Mobiles to be banned from Dutch classrooms

Secondary schools in the Netherlands will ban mobile phones, tablets, and smartwatches from the classroom in the new year to try to reduce distractions.

The only exceptions to the rule will be when the devices are integral to the topic being studied, or if individual students have specific needs, because of factors such as disability.

Some schools have already introduced voluntary restrictions, but Education Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf said that while such pieces of technology "are intertwined with our lives, they do not belong in the classroom".

"Students need to be able to concentrate and need to be given the opportunity to study well. Mobile phones are a disturbance, scientific research shows. We need to protect students against this," he said.

The ban has come about through an agreement between the government education department, schools, and relevant organizations. Initially, it will be left up to schools how they enforce it, with the prospect of legislation and binding rules next summer if this approach does not work.

"We are going to look very closely at whether this works, this decision," he said. "Because, of course, there could always be a legal ban. But I actually assume that we can arrange this together."

The move follows similar steps taken recently in Finland, a country that is widely regarded as having one of the best education systems in the world and which is also the birthplace of Nokia, one of the most significant companies in the development of mobile phones.

"The government will reinforce the powers of teachers and principals to intervene in activities that disrupt teaching during school hours," said a Finland government statement issued in June.

"We will make the necessary legislative amendments to enable more efficient restrictions in cases such as the use of mobile devices during the school day so that pupils and students can better concentrate on teaching."

Last year, Italy took similar steps, with Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara calling phones "an element of distraction" and the source of a "lack of respect to teachers" whose "authority must be restored as a priority". "You go to school to study, not to chat," he added.

France has also had a ban in place since September 2018.Newspaper Le Figaro reported that before the ban, around 30 to 40 percent of all sanctions issued in senior schools related to the use of mobile phones in the classroom.

In 2021, the United Kingdom's then-education secretary, Gavin Williamson, proposed a ban on phones in schools, saying they were "not just distracting but they can have a damaging effect on a pupil's mental health and wellbeing".

The proposal was dropped by his successor, Nadhim Zahawi, but Williamson, who is now out of ministerial office, has continued to argue the case, saying recently: "Whether it is tackling issues like TikTok riots or making sure children maintain their attention on their work in school, all the evidence suggests banning mobiles in schools is the way to go."