School stops using brain monitors for students

"I think it is good to try as it will help train and monitor the good studying habits of kids in class," said Fu, mother of a student at the Jinhua school.

"It all depends on whether the headband can help wearers improve their study scores. Sometimes even adults fail to pull ourselves together due to the lack of good habits," she told Shanghai-based news website ThePaper.cn.

Others, however, have different ideas concerning the use of such products in classrooms.

A professor in cognitive neuroscience, who has been studying the science of childhood development and learning for over 10 years, told China Daily that a person's cognitive capability is determined by the activity of the whole brain. The headband, which only detects part of the brain through several electrodes, is far from enough, she said.

The professor, who preferred to be anonymous, also raised doubts about the accuracy of the data collected. "Such devices may help teachers in improving and revising their teaching methods, but may pose extra annoyances and burdens to students as individuals," she said.

"Advanced technologies should be applied as tools to complement and improve educational qualities, instead of interfering and hampering students' individual characters and potentials," the professor remarked.

Qin Jirong contributed to this story.