Mobile phones also banned from primary school classes: ‘This is how we protect the students’ | Politics

Primary schools and special education will join the agreements made by the Ministry of Education in July from 2024-2025 with secondary schoolsMinister Mariëlle Paul (Primary and Secondary Education, VVD) announced on Tuesday. “This is how we protect the students.” In secondary education, mobile phones are banned from classrooms after the Christmas holidays.

Experts say that students perform less well than they do being distracted through their phone. For some teachers, this meant a battle for attention in every lesson. The new agreements, says Paul, offer ‘clarity for everyone’. “We have noticed in secondary education that it quickly gets used to and gives students and teachers peace of mind.”

There are exceptions: mobile phones may be used during classroom lessons, if this serves an educational purpose. Schools can make their own arrangements about this. Students who are dependent on their mobile phone for medical reasons or a disability may also continue to use it. The agreements will be evaluated next year to see whether a legal ban on mobile phones is necessary.

The Ministry of Education hoped to make agreements with both primary and secondary education last summer, but the PO Council, the umbrella organization for primary schools, did not want this at the time. Fewer students in primary schools have a mobile phone, but that number is increasing rapidly.

Annual research into media use among families shows that 76 percent of children between the ages of 7 and 12 use a smartphone. According to the Consumers’ Association, most children get their first mobile phone at the age of nine. Minister Paul: “Many children have a mobile phone at a young age.”

However, chairman Freddy Weima of the PO Council did not like additional agreements at the time. “There’s quite a lot that needs to be done. It is a formalization of what has been happening in most schools for a long time,” he said at the time. In many rooms, telephones already go in a drawer or bag.

The fact that the umbrella organization is now changing tack is at the request of the members. A poll among members of the Primary Care Council and the General Association of School Leaders (AVS) now shows that they consider the ‘symbolic value’ of the agreements important. National agreements can also prevent ‘discussions at school’. Weima does say that he hopes that the agreements can prevent ‘unnecessary legislation and regulations’.

Enter our here electoral guide for the House of Representatives elections 2023 in. The story continues after that.

Also listen to our podcast Politics Close. You can find all our podcasts at ad.nl/podcasts.

Watch all our videos about politics here: