Trung vuong vietnamese language school

Prudential plc executives called on National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and the high-level delegation he led to Britain to attend the Vietnam – UK High-level Forum on Economy and Trade to discuss the Vietnamese Government’s priorities and the role of insurers in increasing financial inclusion in the country.

This meeting was aimed at strengthening relationships and underlining Prudential’s commitment to Viet Nam.

After the two-year-long COVID-19 pandemic, Prudential is focusing on building a resilient business to best serve its customers. Insurers like Prudential play an important role in developing innovative savings and protection products to meet Vietnam’s evolving needs while strengthening and deepening its capital markets and harnessing new technology to increase financial inclusion.

Shriti Vadera, Prudential’s chairwoman, said “The world still faces significant economic headwinds, but we are optimistic about the year ahead – and I know the same is true of the Vietnamese economy, with the very robust 5 per cent growth figures for the first quarter of 2022, given the wider conditions.”

Hue congratulated her firm for its success globally including in Viet Nam, and expressed the hope it would continue operating successfully in the country and fulfil its social responsibility.

He said the Vietnamese government and the National Assembly are ready to address the problems businesses face when operating in Viet Nam, including those from the UK.

Prudential chairwoman Shriti Vadera said her company is delighted to be part of Vietnam’s development and could help the process by issuing long-term bonds. — VNA/VNS Photos Doan Tan

Prudential pledged to cooperate with the Vietnamese Government in three key initiatives: Green Finance, InsurTech, and development of HCM City into an international financial hub.

In terms of Green Finance, with the government’s commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, Prudential is focused on supporting a just and inclusive transition, particularly of the country’s energy systems.

As a substantial investor in Viet Nam’s domestic capital markets, Prudential is in a strategic position to enter green finance.

To further support the financing of renewable energy and development of social and green bonds in Vietnam, greater depth of rating agencies and breadth of coverage are the important next steps.

These can help Vietnam get closer to its net-zero targets and further establish itself as a regional leader in green finance.

Insurance tech: As a leading insurance player in the market, Prudential uses digitisation as an enabler for providing customers with innovative products, distribution and servicing.

The Pulse application, Prudential’s health and wellness platform, has shown how technology and insurance are a perfect match in providing new and innovative services to consumers.

Although Insur-tech for life insurance is still in its infancy, collaboration between relevant authorities and the industry can bring new and interesting solutions that will benefit the Vietnamese people.

Development of HCM City into an international financial hub: Prudential expressed its commitment to Viet Nam as one of its key strategic markets in Asia.

Prudential has significant experience in operating life and asset management companies in both mature and emerging markets under various policy frameworks.

It has leveraged this valuable knowledge to share and advise governments and other stakeholders in various policy development settings. — VNS

An independent school in Far North Queensland has been accused of putting profits ahead of the welfare of students and staff by chasing significant federal funding incentives attached to boarding students from remote Indigenous communities.

Djarragun College at Gordonvale, in the southern suburbs of Cairns, has reopened after being closed for two days following a brawl between students, some allegedly armed with metal bars.

The fight on June 20 left a 17-year-old boy in hospital with head injuries.

Parents and staff said the incident was just the latest violent episode and the by-product of a school executive that had failed in providing a duty of care for students and teachers and a safe environment conducive to learning.

But the school executive has defended the way it operates, saying it “provides education and support that no other school can or will”.

Djarragun College is run by Cape York Partnerships and has about 400 students enrolled from prep to year 12.

It also has a boarding facility that caters for young people from remote communities in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Elder critical of governance

Yarrabah is the nation’s largest discrete Indigenous community with a population of about 4,000 people and is less than 40 kilometres from Djarragun College’s Gordonvale campus.

Percy Neal is a respected Yarrabah Elder and its former mayor.

He said his community once provided a large cohort of day students to the college, but families were increasingly sending their children to other schools in the catchment area due to ongoing issues at Djarragun.

Mr Neal has accused the school executive of failing future generations of First Australians.

“You can’t blame the kids … as an ex-mayor, I’ve sat on [boards] of a lot of Aboriginal companies … the governance is not right,” he said.

School defends funding

Mr Neal said he supported moves to offer educational opportunities for children from remote Northern Territory communities, but believed the school executive was more motivated by money than providing for students.

“The idea is a really good idea, but the governance is bad, it’s terrible,” he said.

Mr Neal, a prominent Aboriginal activist, believed the school had been mixing students from different Indigenous communities in Cape York, the Torres Strait and the Northern Territory without adequate thought for cultural sensitivities.

He said he offered suggestions to school leaders, but was ignored.

“They should have respectable Elders come down from these communities every now and then to have a presence in the school,” he said.

In a statement to the ABC , Djarragun College said Mr Neal “has not requested a meeting with [executive principal] Dr Michael Barton, nor ever met with him, however Dr Barton extends an opportunity to meet to discuss his concerns”.

It also defended its funding arrangements.

“Djarragun as an independent college receives a great deal less in state and federal incentives due to its independent status, despite the level of poverty experienced by the families enrolled,” the statement said.

‘Different laws, different rules’

Mr Neal’s criticisms of Djarragun College echoed comments made by staff and others associated with the school that not enough was being done to build cultural connections, which had resulted in conflict.

“They’re coming from different laws, different rules in their own community … because these kids don’t understand each other, it’s easy to offend another group,” a staff member said.

In its statement, the college said it stood for inclusion and maintained it had various programs in place to address the issues which arose by catering for young people from different language groups and cultural backgrounds.

It said all students were encouraged to live and work together and to leave kinship differences in their communities.

Principal rejects critics’ claims

The ABC made repeated requests to interview Djarragun College’s executive principal Dr Michael Barton, but he declined.

However, in its extensive statement, the college said “internal and external investigations continue into Monday’s incident”.

It said the school worked tirelessly to support students and families through the complexities brought about by chronic disadvantage.

“No-one else picks up kids door to door because these kids are often homeless, or pick up laundry from their homeless families, or delivers food during COVID lockdown, or offer cultural outreach services, or internet connections in remote homes during COVID schooling.”

You can read Djarragun’s statement in full here .

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• Fears lives are in jeopardy as school brawl allegedly involving metal bars puts teen in hospital