Mobile phones, tablets and smartwatches will be banned from classrooms in the Netherlands from the start of next year as they have been deemed too distracting.
Portable electronics will be banned from Dutch secondary schools from 1 January 2024, Education Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf confirmed on Tuesday. The Minister laid out the rule in a new directive, bringing a conclusion to months of debate over such a ban.
"Even though mobile phones are interwoven with our lives, they don't belong in the classroom. Pupils should be able to concentrate and learn properly there," Dijkgraaf said in a statement, adding that watching TikTok videos or sharing photos via Snapchat during class hours will no longer be possible.
Legal ban not ruled out
Schools can also choose to ban mobile phones from the entire premises. Relevant organisations in the education sector will work out the details in due course: "After the summer holidays, teachers, pupils and their parents can discuss what exactly this will look like in their schools, so that they will have it in place by 1 January 2024."
While this directive does not amount to a legal ban, Dijkgraaf noted that a subsequent total ban cannot be ruled out, should the measure not be properly implemented.
Once the new directive comes into effect, pupils will only be able to use their devices for learning purposes or for medical reasons (when a student with diabetes needs to measure blood sugar levels, for example).
The announcement follows several reports published by Dutch experts earlier this year about the extremely harmful effects of smartphone use in the classroom. "We need to protect pupils from that," Dijkgraaf said. A decision on primary schools will be made on Wednesday.
Belgian ban?
The cabinet of Flemish Education Minister Ben Weyts told The Brussels Times that a ban will not be put in place in Belgian schools anytime soon, as such decisions are in the hands of individual schools.
"It is not up to Brussels to impose a single policy on all schools on such matters," his spokesperson said.
At the start of 2021, China's Ministry of Education banned smartphones in schools for students up to 15 years old to "protect students' eyesight, help them concentrate on their studies and prevent them from becoming addicted to the internet and games."
Related News
- New Belgian documentary puts spotlight on young people's mental health
- Prolonged pandemic impact: School absenteeism at record levels
Meanwhile, in the Irish town of Greystones, parents took matters into their own hands without waiting on decisions from higher up.
Parents' associations across the district's eight primary schools banded together to collectively tell their children they cannot have a smartphone until secondary school amid concerns that smartphones were fuelling anxiety and exposing children to adult material.
