France says “non” to mobiles in schools

Public health issue

The French government is planning to ban students from using mobile phones in the country’s primary, junior and middle schools.

While children will be permitted to bring their phones to school, they will not be allowed to get them out at any time until they leave, even during breaks.

French education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said the measure would come into effect from the start of the next school year in September 2018.

It will apply to all pupils from the time they start school at age of six – up to about 15 when they start secondary school.

Blanquer said some education establishments have already prohibited pupils from using their mobiles.

“Sometimes you need a mobile for teaching reasons… for urgent situations, but their use has to be somehow controlled”, he told RTL radio.

The minister said the ban was also a “public health message to families… It’s good that children are not too often, or even at all, in front of a screen before the age of seven”.

The French headteachers’ union was sceptical that the ban could be enforced as some kids will not turn off their phones even if you threaten them with heavy ordinance.