Ministry to examine UNESCO-recommended ban on cell phones in schools

Ministry of Education officials are weighing the pros and cons of the use of cell phones in schools in light of a UNESCO study which has recommended a ban on the use of the devices in schools.

In its recently released 2023 Global Education Monitoring Report, the United Nation’s education, science and culture agency raised concerns about the excessive use of smartphones in schools worldwide, saying there was evidence that the over-use of mobile phones was linked to reduced educational performance.

Pointing out that several countries have already implemented bans on cell phone use in classrooms, UNESCO said such actions also protected children from online bullying.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Deputy Chief Education Officer Roderick Rudder said the ministry has not yet done an assessment of the local situation.

“We are aware of the global thrust to re-examine the extent to which our young people are utilising, I would say, mobile technologies for educational and social purposes. However, we have not reached a point as yet in terms of our own assessment of the local impact on our students. But the international research that has been put out there, they’re lobbying for countries to reconsider the length of time that young people utilise cell phones and also, if necessary, to put a complete ban on the use of cell phones,” he said.

Rudder said the ministry recognised the importance of students using technology to access information for their own development and officials would be looking at how to moderate usage.

“You recognise that in this modern era, our young people are not necessarily going to be in public libraries like in days gone by, and the technologies are being utilised more for a lot of research and to gather information to assist students in the preparation of SBAs [School-Based Assessments] and other assignments.

“Therefore, we have to carefully examine the extent to which we would want to place certain limits on the use of technology so that young people are not necessarily disadvantaged in terms of access to information, but rather to take into consideration the extent to which we can moderate the extent to which they use the technology within the context of the classroom. It is a challenging one for us at this point in time, based on the research that has been done internationally,” he said.

Education Minister Kay McConney said the ministry was in the process of reviewing several of its policies to see which of them may need adjusting, noting that consideration will be given to whether the one regarding cell phone use in schools needs to be revisited.

(JB)