Ho Chi Minh City: 100% of schools to replace phones with practical recess from January 2026

It is expected that from January 2026, 100% of schools in Ho Chi Minh City will restrict students from using phones during recess.

This is the information given by the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City at the workshop "Strengthening the building of a healthy school environment, not using mobile phones during recess", organized by the department on the morning of September 18.

According to Ho Chi Minh City, it plans to implement a plan to limit the use of phones and electronic devices during recess at educational institutions in the city in two phases.

In phase 1, from October 2025 to the end of the first semester of the 2025-2026 school year, Ho Chi Minh City will pilot a restriction on phone use during recess at 16 schools in the area.

Phase 2, from January 2026, will simultaneously implement the restriction of cell phones at all general education institutions in the area.

To replace entertainment with phones, schools will organize diverse activities during recess for students to participate in such as: sports , arts, folk games, reading, life skills clubs...

Students will participate in at least one group activity, and there will be no more use of cell phones for personal entertainment purposes during recess.

Students present their opinions on phone-free recess at the workshop on the morning of September 18 - Photo: MY DUNG

In connection with this replacement, school staff, teachers and employees will receive intensive training to specifically guide age-appropriate folk games and techniques for organizing quick sports activities for students.

At the conference, Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, shared that smartphones not only bring benefits to students, but also pose many potential risks if there is no guidance.

According to Mr. Hieu, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City does not absolutely prohibit students from bringing cell phones to school. However, cell phones should only serve essential needs, supporting learning and communication when necessary. Therefore, schools will not be extremely strict in banning, but must guide students to proactively use cell phones appropriately and safely.

In fact, there have been many cases of students being scammed online recently. With just simple tricks, bad guys have penetrated the personal information of students and their families.

To prevent this, many schools have adopted measures ranging from propaganda, coordination with parents to student discipline. However, Mr. Hieu said that each school has different conditions and methods, so the effectiveness is not uniform.

Therefore, in that context, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City wants to listen to the opinions and approaches of schools and students so that students' use of phones becomes more and more useful and their playtime is more effective.

Many schools in Ho Chi Minh City have had useful, phone-free recess.

At the conference, many schools in Ho Chi Minh City such as: Luong The Vinh Secondary - High School (Cau Ong Lanh Ward); Thanh Loc High School; Tran Nguyen Han High School; Nguyen Thai Binh Secondary School; Chu Van An Continuing Education Center... all organized phone-free recess hours and brought practical results to students.

According to Ms. Pham Thi Phuong Hong - Principal of Nguyen Thai Binh Secondary School (Binh Phu Ward), building "Healthy recess - encouraging physical activity and collective play" is not a choice, but an urgent requirement to rebalance the comprehensive development of students. To create a valuable space for students to exercise, interact and connect directly with friends, helping them find joy in outdoor games and feel the value of physical activities. At the same time, practice social skills and team spirit, the fundamental elements for students to enter life.

After 1 year of implementation, 100% of students were excited to participate and received useful impacts, so students and parents were very satisfied.

The school has built its own reasonable process for managing students' phones.

The draft Plan to limit the use of phones and electronic devices during recess clearly states: depending on the actual situation, educational institutions should develop plans and processes to manage students' mobile phones appropriately. Educational institutions should have a three-party commitment so that parents, students and schools can work together in managing phones at school.

Depending on the situation, the school can organize sports activities, cultural activities, folk games and group games... for students.

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MY DUNG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tp-hcm-100-truong-hoc-thay-the-dien-thoai-bang-gio-ra-choi-thiet-thuc-tu-thang-1-2026-20250918152216142.htm