VietNamNet Bridge – Since March 1, a program on prohibiting high school students from riding motorbikes to school and using mobile phones has been implemented in Hanoi in a trial basis. A debate has been raised on economic forum about whether to allow high school students to use motorbikes and mobile phones.

A lot of parents wrote to VietNamNet, applauding the decision by the Hanoi’s authorities, saying that students do not need motorbikes and mobile phones to study well.

Nguyen Thi Huong, a VietNamNet reader, wrote that whether to allow her son, a high school student, to use mobile phones has caused a storm in her family.

Many months ago, Huong’s son told his mother that he needed a mobile phone in order to learn better. However, Huong has found out that the mobile phone did not help much with her son’s studies. Meanwhile, her son used the phone mostly to play games, chat with friends or make appointments. After that Huong decided to prohibit her son from using mobile phones. But the decision has become a bone of contention between the mother and the son. The boy feels ashamed because all of his classmates have mobile phones, except for him.

Therefore, Huong was happy when the city’s authorities decided to prohibit high school students from using mobile phones. She believes that it would be better if schools set up public telephone cabins to allow students to contact their parents when necessary.

Another reader, Kim Nguyen, said that he cannot understand the mentality of young adults nowadays. His nephew thinks that it is fashionable to ride motorbikes and… to get into accidents. His nephew just wishes he will not die in the accidents, but otherwise accidents are considered the “daily thing”.

“He has an accident every time he drives his motorbike from Hanoi to his home village in Bac Ninh province. He the thrill,” Nguyen wrote. “He is proud that it takes him only one hour to travel from Hanoi to Bac Ninh, while it takes other people 1.5 hours”.

Viet Anh, a parent, admitted that on one hand motorbikes have caused many serious accidents and worsened the city’s traffic, but that on the other hand  motorbikes and mobile phones are very useful things for students nowadays who are burdened with hard work.

“Why should we prohibit our students from using mobile phones, while in other countries, using mobile phones is quite a normal thing. Especially, schools in the US encourage students to use mobile phones so that teachers can send lectures to students,” he said.

“It is because in Vietnam, we do not give students lessons about responsibility, the responsibility to themselves, to their families, friends and society. If they have responsibility, they will think carefully before doing things,” he continued.

The problem in Vietnam is that many students use mobile phones and ride motorbikes not because they need them, but because they want to show off to their friends.

Meanwhile, students say that it is not necessary to prohibit students from using mobile phones and warn that the plan will fail to be implemented.

Nguyen Hoang Son, a student of Phan Dinh Phung High School in Hanoi, also said that the city’s authorities should not prohibit students from using mobile phones because they are very effective tools that help students learn better. Besides, it is not very costly to use mobile phones. A phone with basic functions is within the reach of urbanites, and it costs 50,000 dong only to make calls and send SMS.

Son does not think that the plan to install telephone cabins at schools will be feasible, saying that it is necessary to draw lessons from the program on installing public telephone booths on streets. The booths became redundant just a short time after they were installed.

Tu Uyen