‘Students need to be able to concentrate’: Netherlands to ban mobile phones in classrooms

Students in the Netherlands will no longer be able to watch TikTok videos, chat with classmates or share Snapchat selfies during class. This, after this Monday the government announced a plan to ban mobile phones in secondary school classrooms, since he considers this type of device to be an obstacle to learning and a distraction even if the measure will not come into force until the beginning of 2024.

“Although cell phones are almost intertwined with our lives, they have no place in the classroom. Pupils must be able to concentrate in class and have every opportunity to learn well,” said Education Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf. “We know from scientific studies that cellphones interrupt that,” he argued.

order, likely to be extended to primary education as well, it also affects tablets and connected watches according to the public television channel NOS.

There will be some exceptions. Gadgets will only be allowed when needed for the lesson, such as when teaching digital skills, and nor will they be barred from students who are dependent on them for medical reasons, disability or other special needs, the RT portal said.

Implemented in collaboration with the schools, this measure does not have the force of law. However, it is possible that in the future a legal framework will be established to make it effective.

However, the government claimed that it will be each school that will decide the exact rules with which this limitation is applied, what to do with teachers, parents and students.

The standard is the result of an agreement already reached between the ministry, schools and organizations in this area. It is expected that at the end of the year 2024/2025 assess what the results of this ban have been, and whether turning it into law becomes necessary or not.

Other countries, like Finland, UK and France have proposed such laws that restrict the use of mobile phones in schools, notes the BBC.

last May, Sweden asked different experts to study the digitization plan approved in 2002, after the publication of the results of the PIRLS 2021 report, which assesses the reading comprehension of 4th grade pupils and which, in the Swedish case, shows a clear decline.

Education Minister Lotta Edholm had already expressed her doubts in an article published in the newspaper Expressen on December 21, recalls Le Monde. In the note, described the use of this technology in schools as an “experiment” and warned against “the unjudgmental attitude that casually sees digitization as a good thing, whatever its content”. which leads to “putting aside” textbooks.

Thus, the Swedish government has decided to spend between 40 and 60 million euros each year on paper textbooks. The idea is that the textbooks, which according to the Minister, have “benefits that no tablet can replace”.

In the town of Greystones, Ireland, a parents’ association has organized to ban cell phones for students. The idea, according to them, is to protect young people and prevent them from viewing content intended for the elderly.

This is not just a ban on bringing devices to school, but a total ban: at school, at home and on the street. Anyway, This is a “voluntary” rule, which means that each child’s parents decide whether their child will have a mobile phone or not. . The idea for this to spread, in any case, is that no young person has a mobile phone in the city, so that he does not feel obliged to ask his parents for devices.

The last country to have legislated in this direction was Finland. “This government will strengthen the power of teachers and school leaders to intervene in activities that interrupt teaching during school hours,” announced the executive. To clarify, they said that “we will make the necessary legislative changes to allow for more effective restrictions, such as the use of mobile phones during the school day, so that pupils and students can better concentrate on what they are told. taught”.

In Finland, the pre-eminence of mobile phones, linked to the success of Nokia, has long been unchallenged. Children in the country tend to have mobile phones at a younger age compared to their counterparts elsewhere and many already own one as soon as they enter school.

Despite concerns from educators about the adverse effects of these devices on attention and concentration, existing regulations established by the Finnish National Agency for Education they do not allow schools to prevent students from bringing mobile devices to their campus.