Smartphones should be banned from schools to help stop classroom disruption, a major United Nations report has recommended. Unesco, the educational, scientific and cultural wing of the UN, said the ban would improve learning and help protect children from online bullying.
Excessive mobile phone use was associated with poor educational performance and screen time worsened children’s emotional stability, the Guardian newspaper reported, citing the agency’s research.
Digital technology as a whole, including artificial intelligence, should never take precedence over a “human centred vision” of education or replace face-to face interaction teaching, the report added. “Not all change constitutes progress. Just because something can be done doesn’t mean it should be done”, it concluded.
The report also called for policy makers to take heed of the “social dimension of education”. “Those urging increasing individualisation may be missing the point of what education is about”, it added.
Based on its analysis of 200 education systems around the world, Unesco estimated one in six countries had banned smartphones in school, either through law or guidance.
Last month, Finland became the latest European country to ban mobile phones in classrooms in an attempt to curb slumping exam results.
Other European countries have already introduced restrictions on smartphones in schools. Italy completely banned the use of mobile phones in schools in December. Teachers were told to collect the tech from students at the start of the day.
Phones were banned in French schools in 2018 but in Germany, the region of Bavaria recently relaxed its long-standing ban.
