The Ministry of Education yesterday proposed to the autonomous communities to prohibit the non-teaching use of mobile phones by students in all schools and institutes in the country.
Minister Pilar Alegría took advantage of the presence of the Education Ministers at the first sectoral conference of the new legislature to inform them that she will call them again in the first weeks of January to try to reach an agreement valid in all the autonomies on the use of mobile phones in educational centers.
Alegría also announced what proposal the ministry will put on the table for debate and common reflection. It will defend that cell phones must be completely prohibited during school hours in the six Primary years and that the use of smartphones will also be prohibited as a general rule during school hours in ESO, Baccalaureate and FP institutes with the only exception that the teacher authorizes them in class under his supervision and to develop pedagogical content.
The ministry is also committed, Alegría added, to continue working on the digital training of teachers and students to achieve correct and healthy use of the devices.
mobile phones and to generalize knowledge of their risks and benefits. “It is our obligation and interest to ensure that minors can have a healthy and healthy relationship with technological media,” he assured, although he then explained that this is an issue that far exceeds the limits of schools, since 75 % of mobile phone use time by young people takes place outside of school hours. The problem of excessive use and risk of smartphones by young people therefore requires the involvement and decisions of more public and private entities than merely educational ones. For this reason, he commented, “education cannot be the answer to everything, but it must be part of the solution.”
Coordination and unity
The minister, who pointed out that her proposal was received “very positively” by all the autonomous representatives, commented that her objective is to reach an agreement “from coordination and unity” with all the autonomies, which are responsible for the execution of educational competencies. She gave as an example of what the unity of action achieved by the ministry and councils pursues to organize classes during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
Alegría also explained that, before making a decision, she wants to extend the reflection and debate to the rest of the country's educational community (parents, teachers and students), so she intends to discuss the matter with these groups in the State School Council. .
Three autonomies have already prohibited the use of cell phones in schools. They are Castilla-La Mancha and Galicia, since 2014, and Madrid, since 2020. Currently the debate has been opened in Catalonia, where the Generalitat is preparing guidelines to guide schools and institutes.
A Unesco report maintains that cell phones in classrooms distract and harm learning, but they also make it difficult for teachers to manage classes because they are a source of distractions, disturbances and even an instrument for bullying. The PISA report expressed itself in similar terms this month after listening to the evaluations on the subject from adolescents, teachers and the management team. It only makes a nuance, as the ministry also defends the possibility of pedagogical and supervised use of mobile phones in secondary school because it estimates that a total ban would create a lot of anxiety in students and perhaps more harm than benefits.
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