Sydney’s MCI Institute has been called out on Reddit after a screenshot of course work for a Certificate III in Business Admin purported false information regarding “harmful” computer radiation.
Reddit user u/birdman142 shared the screenshot on the r/Australia subreddit overnight, asserting their housemate stumbled across the strange part of the curriculum.
“My housemate is doing a Cert III in Business Admin to keep his jobseeker with Centrelink and this is a core unit,” he wrote, adding that the course was run by MCI Institute.
The module, which is part of a safe work practices unit, covered chair height, keyboard and mouse position, and a whole page on “radiation from computer screens.”
Throughout the module, MCI Institute warns against working in front of your computer for extended periods of time, and suggests using radiation protection on screens and putting plants around your computer to help absorb radiation.
Additionally, and perhaps most ridiculously, it recommends washing your face to decontaminate from the radiation. Although it’s worth noting that decontamination showers are important if you ever find yourself at the site of a nuclear explosion, you probably don’t need to wash the radiation off your face after a study session.
The concept of computers emitting radiation is far from new. However, experts have continually debunked the myths that computer radiation is dangerous to pregnant women, or that it causes cancer.
While staring at a screen for extended periods of time may strain your eyes, it’s not going to give you any sort of radiation-induced sickness.
The course material was live as recently as April 29, 202, however, it was promptly removed after Gizmodo Australia contacted MCI Institute.
MCI confirmed that the content was developed by a third-party, with whom they have now terminated their partnership.
“A routine audit of the Certificate III in Business course material by MCI found an outdated piece of content that had been prepared by a third party content provider with a strong audit history. The material was immediately removed by MCI and we have terminated the relationship with the content provider,” MCI Institute told Gizmodo Australia over email.
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MCI also asserted that the computer radiation content was just a small element of the course. But regardless of how significant the component was to the overall course, it’s worth noting that the education provider was teaching blatant misinformation.
“The computer screen advice was a small part of one of the 12 units of competence in the Certificate III course, which includes topics such as keyboard speed and accuracy, customer service, producing business documents, and many other practical workplace skills,” MCI Institute said to Gizmodo Australia.
MCI consistently reviews and updates training material to maintain relevance with qualification standards.”
Gizmodo has repeatedly requested further information regarding how long the misinformation was included in the course, and how many students were impacted, but MCI Institute declined to comment further.
The course in question was the BSB30415 Certificate III in Business Administration, however, it is unclear if the same information was used in other courses.