Should schools ban mobile phones?

Despite the reputed health risks of exposure to microwaves, more and more parents are buying mobile phones for their children.

Pham Thanh Dam, a lecturer at HCM City-based Post and Telecommunications Institute, said microwaves could potentially harm a child's immune system, lead to skull-development problems and even cause brain cancer.

However, most primary – and secondary-school students would rather be dead than go without their trusty mobile.

And parents are more concerned about being able to contact their children than of the health risks involved.

"I heard about the effects of mobile phones on health but they do help me keep in touch with my child when he is out. It takes just a phone call to find out what he is doing and where he is," said Vuong Thi Hien, whose son is an eighth grader in Ha Noi.

Nguyen Thu Dao, a teacher at Chu Van An Secondary School in Ha Noi, said two-thirds of her class of 45 now had mobile phones.

Parents buy their children a mobile phone so they can keep in touch when they are away from home, Dao said. However, she said students who skip school to play on computer games could simply lie to their parents about where they are or even refuse the call.

She also said that students in her class often sent text messages covertly or listened to music. She said she was also annoyed by the phones' ring tones.

"Students often fail to concentrate on the lesson because they are too busy texting friends, while ring tones disrupt the class," Dao said.

A school vice principal in Ha Noi said that some students used their phones to cheat in exams.

Worse still, camera phones have also been used to humiliate peers, as was the case of the school girl in Ha Noi who was beaten up by her fellow students. On-lookers, rather than intervene, simply posted pictures of the fight on the internet.

In addition, students can also download inappropriate material on phones that have internet, he said.

Nguyen Huong Quynh, a teacher at Nguyen Cong Tru Secondary School, said students were only permitted to use mobile phones to make calls or send messages, rather than access the internet.

Nguyen Ngoc Hung, an 8th-grader, said he would be lost without his phone.

"It is a part of my everyday life. My friends and I exchange messages quite often, tens of times a day. I can even write messages quickly without having to look at the keys." Hung said.

Education and Training Ministry regulations prohibit students from using mobile phones in class or during school activities. There is, however, no minimum age limit for possession of a mobile phone.

Nguyen Thu Ha, a primary school teacher, said busy parents bought their children phones so that they could be called when they needed to be picked up after school.

However, Ha said parents could just as easily ask teachers to keep an eye on their children if they were going to be late.

She said she thought there was nothing wrong with mobile phones, provided they were used sparingly and only when necessary. — VNS