This doesn't mean students will be able to use Facebook and TikTok during class though.

Tuoi Tre reports that the Ministry of Education and Training has adopted a new circular which would end the current full ban on students using mobile phones in class. The change would come into effect in early November.

Accordingly, middle and high school students would be allowed to use their phone at school, but strictly for educational purposes.

"Students are allowed to use phones during class time, but only to serve learning purposes with their teachers' permission," Dr. Sái Công Hồng, deputy director of the Secondary Education Department at the ministry, told the news source. He added that students sometimes need to look up additional info or search reference materials, and phones can be used for this. 

Unsurprisingly, this change has stirred some controversy. Nguyễn Bích Trang, who has a sixth grader at a middle school in District 1, said: "The new rule by the Ministry of Education and Training gives parents like me a shock. Allowing students to use modern devices, including computers, tablets or smartphones, is an inevitable need for today's education, but I don't think it is necessary for students to bring their phones into class to apply modern forms of teaching."

One Saigon teacher, meanwhile, expressed concern that students would instead use their phones to browse Facebook and play mobile games.

At the time of writing, it is unclear whether students will be allowed to use TI-86 calculators to play Tetris and Snake like true 90s kids.

[Photo by Tu Trung/Tuoi Tre]