Thousands of children attending French-speaking schools will be returning to the classroom next Monday. In some schools, they will have to switch off and hide away their phones, or even hand them in, as a ban on devices enters into force.
The ban on smartphones will be introduced in French-speaking primary schools in Wallonia and Brussels. In secondary schools, they will be strongly discouraged. The measure was part of the liberal MR and centrist Les Engagés' Walloon coalition agreement, unveiled in July. It aims to "better protect young people's mental well-being" as phones are believed to be detrimental to sleep and concentration and also exacerbate bullying.
The measure will ban pupils up to 12 years from bringing their smartphones into classes. This will apply from next week in the 373 schools in the Wallonie-Bruxelles Enseignement (WBE) network, considered "state" or "official schools".
The ban follows the lead of other European countries: the Netherlands, Spain, France and Italy have already introduced rules restricting or completely banning the use of smartphones in schools. In Flanders, there is no general ban but some schools have decided to forbid the devices on their own accord.
Blanket ban?
A total of 132,600 pupils will be affected. However, the rule will not immediately apply to all schools. Some will pilot the measure next Monday but most others will make it official during this school year, Le Soir reports. The aim is to ban their use in primary schools, but the WBE wants to go further than the government measure by banning them in nursery and secondary schools too. It would like to do so without waiting for political instructions.
The ban applies in the general school context, excluding the use of smartphones during teaching that involves these devices such as a media education course or an awareness-raising session on artificial intelligence (AI). It also does not apply in situations where a pupil has to urgently contact a parent or guardian. "The aim is to supervise, guide and give young people the keys to making the best use of these tools," WBE's Julien Nicaise said.
The organisation will look to schools that have been experimenting with a ban for several years for best practices. Many of these reported positive results, including a human and social aspect being reintroduced. Children who try to circumpass the rule see their phones confiscated, receive a prominent note in the class diary and even face detention.
