Should mobile phones be banned in schools?
Mobile phones have already been banished, to varying degrees, from schools in Italy, France, Hungary, the Netherlands and the UK. Now other countries including Finland and Estonia are weighing up whether to follow suit - and there is debate on the subject in the media too.
Ensure safe and peaceful classrooms
Kaleva argues that a good learning environment should be the top priority:
“Critics warn that restricting mobile phone use would reduce students' digital skills and make school more boring for them. It's like dealing with a serious addiction by allowing the right amount of that addiction. ... Some legal experts argue that banning or confiscating mobile phones during the school day could violate children's fundamental rights: the right to property, and perhaps also the right to freedom of expression and privacy. This must be considered carefully, but children's needs should always come first. Every child and young person has the right to be educated in a safe and peaceful learning environment.”
Parents more important as role models
Õhtuleht calls for more action in other areas:
“All strict bans elicit defiant responses and also increase interest in what has been forbidden, especially among young people. The smartphone era hit us like toothpaste oozing from a tube. Should we try to force the toothpaste back into the squeezed tube now? Or should we at least try to brush our teeth with it? Unfortunately, we adults often set a bad example by spending all our waking hours watching silly Tiktok videos, sharing sinister sound bites and spreading God knows whose agendas. ... There are no perfect solutions in the real world. But as parents, we could at least start by being better role models.”
Children don't only learn at school
Ilta-Sanomat also emphasises family responsibility:
“For several years, there has been talk of the deterioration in learning outcomes. It is worth exploring all options that could support learning. We all know from experience that surfing on a mobile phone is a distraction and impairs concentration. ... By banning [mobile phones], schools can protect pupils at school, but they cannot counter bad role models. If children see their whole family glued to their phones at home, schools will find it difficult to counteract this model.”
Rules better left to the teachers
It is vital that schools preserve their autonomy, Helsingin Sanomat points out:
“The current government has hastily cobbled together a draft bill without proper analysis of the potential consequences. Education policy should not be decided in a hurry. ... There is also a principle at stake here: the strength of the Finnish education system has always been the high degree of autonomy that educational institutions have in deciding how things should be organised. The way in which teachers apply rules and practices - and this also applies to mobile phones - is what we call pedagogy. ... It is important that those whose lives will be impacted here - children and young people - have a say in the debate. This will also increase the likelihood that the rules and bans are actually heeded.”
Suspiciously anti-progressive
The ban will paralyse modern digital teaching when it is introduced in Hungary in September, fears former socialist politician Ildikó Lendvai in Népszava:
“Pupils will be allowed to bring their mobile phones provided they are necessary for a lesson and they have special permission from the school management or teacher. The catch: so much paperwork is required for the application that I think even the most enthusiastic teacher will give up. ... I'm aware that restrictive rules are also being sought in France, England and elsewhere (albeit after lengthy technical discussions). Personally, I wouldn't make such a big deal about the mobile phone war if this measure didn't align so well with the medieval, anti-modernisation, anti-progressive attitude of the Hungarian state.”
Peace and quiet for studying
A ban on mobile phones would also be in the pupils' best interest, Ilta-Sanomat believes:
“Banning mobile phones would also help to curb bullying on social media, which is directed at both pupils and teachers. At the very least, videos taken at school or during breaks would not be shared on social media to make fun of others. The main priority, however, is to establish an atmosphere which is conducive to study. Without their smartphones, pupils' ability to concentrate will improve. And who knows, if mobile phones were banned from the classroom Finland might even return to the top of the Pisa rankings. And pupils' digital skills are unlikely to suffer from this change.”
Teenagers are almost adults
The Hungarian government is also seeking to ban mobile phones in schools from September. The pro-government Mandiner agrees in part:
“It is indisputable that children in lower and upper primary school [in Hungary up to year eight] do not need to have their smartphones at hand at all times. There can be no question of these pupils being allowed to dictate what is good for them. ... But from year nine onwards, banning phones has less to do with pedagogy than with self-deception. It disguises the fact that between year nine and year twelve children are no longer children but - not yet fully mature - adults.”