France’s schools become mobile phone free zones
The meausre applies to all pupils up to age of 15. Teachers are tired of the “unending war” against these devices.
La Vanguardia, The Guardian, Independent · PARIS · 13 DECEMBER 2017 · 10:39 CET
France will ban mobile phones in primary and secondary schools, the Minister of Education announced.
The measure will come into effect in September 2018 and will apply to children up to age of 15.
Pupils will be allowed to bring their phones to school, but not allowed to get them out at any time until they leave, even during breaks.
The ban does not apply to activities in which mobile devices are used for educational purposes.
Some universities in France have already been banning mobile phones for some time.
“A PUBLIC HEALTH MESSAGE”
The Education Minister, Jean-Michel Blanquer, has said the measure is a “public health message to families”.
“It’s good that children are not too often, or even at all, in front of a screen before the age of seven”, the minister said.
In an interview with a national television broadcaster, he added: “Children don't play at break time anymore, they are just all in front of their smartphones and from an educational point of view that's a problem”.
Many teachers had expressed in the last years a growing frustration in the “unending war” against mobile phones in the classroom. But the French headteachers’ union has also been skeptical that the ban could be enforced.
President Emmanuel Macron had pledged to ban mobile phones in schools in his pre-election manifesto.
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