The regulation, set by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), stipulates that general school students must not use mobile phones and music players during the lessons. They must not smoke, drink wine and beer, and use other stimulants when participating in educational activities.

Students must not use mobile phone during the lessons

But in reality, students still use smartphones, either in secret or openly. In 2017, a student in Ninh Binh was caught using a mobile phone. As the teacher seized the phone and threatened to inform his parents, the student jumped into the school yard and broke his two legs.

Previously, parents only bought smartphones for their children when they entered high school. But now, primary school students also have smartphones.

Ha Thi Hong Hoa, a parent in Dong Da district in Hanoi, said she and her husband agreed that they would not allow their daughter to use a mobile phone until she entered secondary school. However, they changed their mind.

“My daughter told me that all of her classmates had mobile phones and she could not understand why she did not have one,” Hoa said.

“The favorite thing students love to do in break time is compare mobile phones of classmates to find out which phone is the most expensive,” she said.

Educators believe that there always two sides of a coin. In the information technology era, it is impossible to prohibit children from using mobile phones. However, it is difficult to control mobile phone use of students.

A high school teacher in Hanoi said smartphones bring too much trouble. Students now use smartphones to cheat at exams. A colleague of his, who could not finish her lesson within 45 minutes, told students to photograph the lecture to read at home.

While some educators believe that smartphone use will harm students, others believe that students should be allowed to use them as a useful learning aid.

Nguyen Du High School in district 10, HCMC, allows students to use smartphones to take exams and do multiple-choice tests.

Huynh Thanh Phu, headmaster of the school, said all students have smartphones of their own, and if students don’t use the smartphones as learning aids, they will use them to play games.

Vu Thi Ngoc Dung, headmaster of Bui Thi Xuan High School in HCMC, admitted that it was difficult to prohibit students from using smartphones. The use of smartphones is not prohibited at the school, but students can only use smartphones during the break time, not during lessons.

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Ha An