News item | 04-07-2023 | 2:55 pm
No more watching a TikTok video during class, sending a message to a classmate or sharing a photo via Snapchat. Mobile phones and, for example, tablets or smartwatches will no longer be allowed in the classroom from 1 January next year because they distract and cause students to perform worse. Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf (OCW) has agreed this with the VO Council, Sector Council GO, AVS, AOb, CNV Education, FvOV, Parents and Education, LAKS and LBVSO.
Mobile phones may only be used if they are necessary for the content of the lesson, for example in a lesson on digital skills. It is up to the schools themselves to agree on the exact rules with teachers, parents and students, so that everyone in the school knows exactly what is and is not allowed. Schools can make their own choice to completely ban mobile phones from the school. Students who depend on their telephone, for example for medical reasons or due to a disability, are allowed to use it. Adjusted agreements will therefore be made for special education.
Learning without distractions
Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf (OCW), Even though mobile phones are almost intertwined with our lives, they do not belong in the classroom. Students must be able to concentrate there and be given every opportunity to learn well. We know from scientific research that mobile phones disrupt this, with all its consequences. We need to protect students from that.”
Conversation in the school
The organizations involved will further elaborate the agreement in the near future. After the summer holidays, teachers, students and their parents can discuss with each other exactly what this will look like at their school, so that they have arranged this by 1 January 2024. At the end of next school year, it will be evaluated whether the agreement has the desired effect or whether a legal ban is necessary.
The agreements have been boosted by the Peters/Beertema motion.