| Azlan Othman |
CYBERCRIME incidents have seen a sharp increase in Brunei Darussalam with the number of victims during the first 11 months of this year exceeding the total recorded last year.
Referring to the statistics of cybercrime victims issued by the Criminal Investigation Department of the Royal Brunei Police Force, Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman, the Minister of Education, said 207 people have become victims of cybercrime until mid-November 2017, compared to 190 in 2016.
The minister said this during a ceremony to hand-over social media learning package to government and private schools, held at Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha Girls Arabic Religious Secondary School in Katok yesterday.
“Of the victims, 123 are those aged 18-35 years. This is a worrying trend and we do not want to see such negative things coming along with information technology, especially on social media. This will upset the various initiatives planned and implemented by the Ministry of Education (MoE),” the minister added.
“It seems that the development of social media can no longer be controlled, and it cannot be denied that social media applications pose serious and powerful challenges to the world. In a study on social media, the Royal Society of Public Health, United Kingdom, has found that social media has become a new form of addiction.
“Social media has also been linked to increased rates of anxiety, depression and poor sleep. The findings match what is happening in our country and we need to act to protect the younger generation, especially students, from challenges posed by social media. Misuse of social media can create adverse effects and affect the reputation of a person or an organisation,” the minister noted.
“In this regard, MoE wants to inculcate awareness on the use of safe social media in school curriculum. It is intended to enhance understanding of the moral and ethical elements involved in the use of social media.
“This is because the National Education System for the 21st Century (SPN21) not only focusses on academic field but also stands for perfecting human development through a holistic and dynamic curriculum as one of the best approaches to tackling this global social problem,” he said.
The minister added that the social media learning package will be used starting 2018 and educate students on how to use social media in a smart, ethical, safe and responsible manner. This effort can also be supported by several strategies set by MoE for achieving the SPN21 goals, among them include strengthening competence in information and communications technology (ICT) among students, teachers and education administrators through integration of ICT into school curriculum, he added.
“The absorption of ICT into teaching and learning will not only help students gain computer knowledge but also prevent them from being accidentally trapped in offences or victims of cybercrime.”
“It is hoped that awareness initiatives such as these can protect and restrain children and teenagers from being victimised by the advancement of information technology and educate them on how to take advantage of the social media platforms prudently.
“This will enable us all and the future generations to live in prosperity and harmony in the country and receive blessings from Allah the Almighty. To catalyse the effort, I hope that all parties concerned, such as institutions of higher education, will be able to produce studies that can help the government curb the negative use of ICT,” the minister concluded.
Meanwhile, Haji Zulkifli bin Haji Mohd Yusuf, the Acting Director of Curriculum Development, said that it is the responsibility of school leaders and the teaching workforce to ensure that the learning package is used properly. This could cultivate a culture of using social media effectively and sustainably.
The package, an initiative spearheaded by the Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) in cooperation with the Curriculum Development Department, is approved by the Content Advisory Council. Starting next year, the package will be disseminated among years 4-6 students in primary schools and Years 7-9 students in lower secondary schools.
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