Vietnam: Is allowing students to use phones in class really dangerous?

After a ban period, in the near future, high school students in Vietnam will be able to use phones in classrooms. New regulations were announced, controversy erupted immediately.

Circular 32/2020 of the Ministry of Education and Training, effective as of November 1, presents a series of notable changes. Specifically, students at the middle and high school levels may use cell phones during class hours, if allowed by the teacher.

Article 37 provides behaviors that students cannot perform with the following contents: “Use a cell phone while studying in class without serving the study and without the permission of the teacher.”

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Director of the Department of Secondary Education (Ministry of Education and Training), said that this regulation serves to help in case students need to search and find resources to support the lesson when allowed. of the teacher.

This regulation has caused a fierce controversy in Vietnam about how to use and manage students’ mobile phones during school hours to ensure learning purposes and not to become addicted to games and social networks. Many people believe that the new rules are dangerous, creating a “bond generation” that only knows how to connect the face to the phone.

In the US, carrying and using telephones in schools is not prohibited by federal regulations, as many schools believe that telephones will be an effective tool for learning.

In Japan, with a new policy just approved in July 2020, high school students will be able to bring their cell phones to school to communicate in an emergency. At school, children should keep their phones in personal lockers to avoid distractions during class.

Pham Khac Viet Khoi, a twelfth grade student at the Gifted Secondary School – National University of Ho Chi Minh City, shared with the BBC: “I consider this new regulation to be reasonable and simple because the teacher agrees, That means that you need to use the phone to fulfill the teacher’s request The teacher has organized and planned the lesson plan for that period with the use of the phone, I have nothing to discuss.

The Ministry of Education and Training explains that the change is to serve the purpose of learning under the development of information technology. This helps not limit teaching activities if teachers find that students use smartphones to access online resources more efficiently, helping to promote innovation in teaching and learning methods. .

In response to the BBC, Pham Khac Viet Khoi shared that gifted high school students pay special attention to self-study and self-study and verify information, which is why most of their friends around them support the use of mobile phones in class to do homework.

Khoi said: “The use of mobile phones in class time depends on each class. There will be teachers who will allow you to use them to search documents, some teachers will not use them so that you do not take advantage of your own work. In the recent epidemic, many teachers asked to have phones to do homework, but teachers did not distribute papers to prevent infections.

Quang Huy, who previously attended the South Saigon International School (SSIS) in Vietnam, told the BBC: “I support an expansion of free spirit in the classroom. The Vietnamese ban on the use of cell phones is not allowed.” “It is strictly enforced in many schools, so it is okay to leave. My only concern is that the rules do not really match the way Asian schools are taught.”

Huy shared that when you study at Saigon South International School, you can still use your cell phone comfortably, from high school: “In my school, students use laptops for all their study. Adding phone is not much different, the positive side of this is the culture of reading email because school and teacher announcements are sent via email I don’t know what high school is but most high school students are I haven’t written any emails yet. In the international environment, writing emails is everyday, so communication between students and the school is more transparent.

The Tuoi Tre newspaper quoted Mr. Pham Tat Thang, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Committee on Culture, Education, Youth, Adolescence and Children, as saying: “The Circular does not provide specific guidance, but does involve the allocation of This may be difficult for teachers because in big cities, most classrooms have between 40 and 60 students, within the period of 45 minutes per lesson, teachers have to do a lot of homework.

He added: “Now being tasked with guiding students to use cell phones to study is a bit difficult, because it will be difficult to control how students use phones for learning purposes or not.”

Ms Trinh Thanh Quyen, an English teacher at Nguyen Du High School, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, told the BBC: “This regulation will put great pressure on teachers. Teachers must cover the class and monitor them closely. To avoid the case that children do their own work, normally, eating, doing other homework is difficult to handle, with the increasingly compact cell phone they can hide very well and through the eyes of the teacher with ease. of them need the supervision of a hall supervisor.

However, Ms. Quyen said that she personally supports the new regulation. She explained: “Teachers are not all-powerful, students need to learn and improve themselves through search engines. Phones will support the self-learning process very effectively, helping students to be more proactive.” .

“The use of phones for study is an inevitable trend of the current age of technology 4.0, especially with foreign languages ​​like English. Knowledge of English is unlimited, books cannot be covered, No timely updates, more Internet searches to broaden understanding, exposure to new knowledge and practical language used by native speakers, “acknowledged Ms. Quyen.

Mr. Thai Hao, a teacher at Binh Long High School for the Gifted, Binh Phuoc, wrote on his personal Facebook: “In this case, the phone is a learning tool. In essence, it is no different from a geographic Atlat, a chemical periodic table, dictionary or any other book are the same because they both contain information and information. The difference is that a cell phone contains more than a million. The second difference is that, to find the information you need in a book, you must read it start to finish, and a cell phone only takes a few seconds. type in the keyword. “

Think that if there is a correct method, the phones will be magic wands in the hands of the students.

He analyzed: “The teaching of problem solving must become a key requirement in the teacher’s method. This method is not only inconsistent, but on the contrary, it is also an advance in education with a developmental goal. Thinking “.

Unlike students, parents are very concerned about this. Ms Nguyen Ngoc Thao, whose son is in the tenth grade at Nguyen Thuong Hien Secondary School (HCMC), told the BBC: “Even with adults, it is difficult to control cell phone use. Generation Z is like my son Using technology from an early age, the way of learning has also become more flexible, but before giving children tools that are difficult for adults to control, it is necessary to teach the methods to use properly.

“The limit of the information search screen with the game screen, the movie screen, Facebook is just one swipe away. Can a class of 35-40 students, teachers, take care of everyone? We wonder our children. “The generation leaned in” because I was just looking at the phone screen, now it gives them more time to communicate on the phone, I’m a little worried, “Ms. Thao said.

On his personal Facebook, journalist Le Thanh Phong wrote: “The younger generation is negatively affected by their mobile phones. Many children are connected to their phones all day, they also do not talk to their parents at home. It takes a long time for the virtual world, so give it the opportunity to get out of your mobile phone …

“Another issue to keep in mind is that students should not abuse the Internet. It all depends on smart tools, which will gradually form a habit of passive and vague thinking ”, he added.

The opposition was very fierce on social media. Many people even accused the new regulation of helping phone manufacturers sell phones.

On the student side, Viet Khoi admitted that the new rule could increase the use of social media by students, even spinning: “Especially for high school students like me. At an age that needs friends, fun. It’s Pretty obvious that most of you would rather browse Facebook, watch YouTube than have to learn derivatives, analytics. Of course, there are still people who like to learn more than play games, but as I’ve observed, that percentage is very small. ” .

In this regard, Ms Quyen explained: “In the future, the ministry also plans to take the exam on computers, so there is software that blocks access to other sites besides the current exam page to avoid cheating on the exam. My school group uses software. If students leave while they are working, they will be prevented from doing the next assignment, “he said.

Speaking about dealing with the risk of phone addiction, Viet Khoi shared: “I myself know that I have little self-control, so I ask my parents to have a modern phone that I can use. From 1 to 2, I use the phone. ‘ brick ‘, for high school I use my mom’s battery-operated smartphone, so whenever I use it too much or play too much, the device automatically shuts off. White.