Goodbye to cell phones in Primary and ESO? Spain proposes its ban at the national level
The use of mobile phones in school and institute classrooms could face a nationwide ban in Spain. After several autonomous communities, including Castilla La-Mancha, Castilla y León, Galicia and the Community of Madrid, implemented similar standards in their centers, The Ministry of Education is preparing to propose regulations that cover the entire national territory.
The proposal is clear: during Primary and Secondary classes, cell phones will be said goodbye, unless the teacher indicates that their use is necessary for some pedagogical reason. The objective? Make society think a little more about how these devices are being used and how that affects performance in class..
Pilar Alegría, current Minister of Education, has already announced that conversations will be held with the autonomous communities and the State School Council in January to study the viability of this measure at the national level.
The proposal has been received positively by the Education Councilors of the autonomies and it is expected that an agreement will be reached to regulate the use of smartphones in classrooms.
In January 2024, talks will begin to ban the use of cell phones in classrooms nationwide
The detailed analysis of the proposal together with the autonomous communities and the State School Council is scheduled, as mentioned above, for January 2024 and, from then on, it will be determined whether any measure is legislated at the national level. .
As the OECD recently warned in its PISA 2022 report, There is currently a widespread “social alarm” due to the negative effects on students’ academic performance. and it seems that this is just the first step to putting an end to it.
Although the path towards a definitive regulation seems not going to be complex, since the minister affirms that many Education Ministers have received the idea “very positively”, as well as Save the Children or the Anar Foundation, the proposal marks a point of departure to resolve these concerns and seek solutions.
Whether a total ban is the solution, we have to wait and see if it finally comes to light and its consequences if it does.
