There were calls in Parliament yesterday to invest more in infrastructure for safe online learning for school children.

The discussion arose as Prime Minister Hon. Jotham Napat tabled amendments to the Digital and Harmful Communication Act No. of 2025, which Parliament passed.

The amendments require schools to develop policies restricting the use of smart devices and mobile phones, especially to prevent students from accessing harmful websites such as pornography.

However, some Members of Parliament said the amendments do not fully solve the issue of students accessing harmful content online.

Former teacher and now MP for Malekula Constituency, Hon. Micah Oliver, said many schools already have internet and online ethics policies, but the challenge remains outside school grounds.

“Every school has a policy on internet usage and online ethics. The problem is it’s hard to control students once they leave school. The school rules stop at the gate, but when they go out, it’s another problem,” he said.

He urged the government to help improve online learning infrastructure in schools.

“Maybe the government must step in to improve online infrastructure in schools,” he said.

There were also calls from other MPs to take stronger action. MP for Tafea Outer Islands, Hon. Tomker Netvunei, suggested that the government completely ban pornographic websites in Vanuatu.

“Why can’t we just ban the porn sites in Vanuatu? It’s bad for all of us , just ban it,” he said.

MP Oliver also mentioned other alternatives such as paid offline content for schools, which would reduce the need for students to go online.

“There are other options , we have offline content like at Tafea College. There’s no need for kids to go on the internet,” he said.

In response, Prime Minister Jotham Napat noted the concerns raised and said he looks forward to working together in the future to further improve the Bill.