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.

The
decision by the Hanoi’s
authorities was made because the number of students riding motorbikes and
causing traffic accidents has been increasing, thereby giving a headache to
management agencies. Meanwhile, using mobile phones has been pointed out as the
main factor that makes students neglectful of their duties as students.

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