On October 9, the Department of Education and Training (DET) of Ho Chi Minh City held a meeting to deploy a pilot plan to strengthen the building of a healthy school environment to limit the use of mobile phones and electronic devices during recess at educational institutions in Ho Chi Minh City.
Accordingly, the pilot will take place at 16 schools in October 2025 until the end of the first semester of the 2025-2026 school year, after which the city will simultaneously deploy it at all general education institutions in the area from January 2026.
According to the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, 16 pilot educational institutions limiting the use of phones were selected based on many criteria. The list of 16 schools implementing the pilot in the first phase is as follows:
When implementing, each school will have at least 3 diverse replacement activities during recess (sports, arts, folk games, reading, life skills club...).
Students participate in at least one collective activity, no longer have the opportunity to use phones for personal entertainment purposes during recess.
School staff, teachers, and staff will receive in-depth training, especially homeroom teachers and team leaders, to specifically guide folk games suitable for their age and techniques for organizing rapid sports activities for students.
On the parents' side, sign a commitment to 3 parties (school - parents - students) at the beginning of the school year/semester; the school organizes a parent meeting to disseminate regulations; creates a zalo group for each class for parents to monitor their children's activities; send weekly SMS messages to announce implementation results.
Depending on the actual situation, educational institutions will develop a plan and process for managing students' mobile phones appropriately.
Regarding sports and basketball activities, mini basketball courts, badminton areas, rope jumping corners, and soccer playgrounds can be organized.
Regarding artistic and creative activities, it is possible to set up a small stage corner in the schoolyard with a simple sound system, outdoor reading corner, and life skills clubs.
In folk and collective games, you can organize official cafes, dragons on clouds, cover your eyes to catch goats, tug of war, chase, and rob flags.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, the regulation to limit students' use of phones and mobile devices during recess aims to build a healthy, safe and friendly school environment in the spirit of "happy school", enhancing physical activities, exchanges, and entertainment of students during recess, contributing to improving the quality of comprehensive education.
