Minister of Education Anders Adlercreutz (SFP) briefed reporters on a government bill to clamp down on the disturbing use of smartphones and other mobile devices in schools in Helsinki on Monday, 30 January 2024. Adlercreutz said he hopes schools take advantage of the opportunity to ban smartphone use for the entirety of the schoolday. (Vesa Moilanen – Lehtikuva)
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FINLAND is set to restrict the use of smartphones and other mobile devices in schools.
Minister of Education Anders Adlercreutz (SFP) on Monday unveiled a government bill that would ban the use of such devices in the classroom unless the teacher or headmaster has specifically granted permission for using the devices for learning.
Exemptions, he added, can be granted for medical and pupil-specific reasons.
The bill is set to grant teachers and headmasters the right to take away mobile devices from pupils who use them in a way that disturbs learning. Schools, meanwhile, will be able to determine in their codes of conduct how to deal with mobile devices at recess and lunch breaks, as well as where the devices are kept during the schoolday.
“It’ll be possible to ban phones for the entire schoolday. Personally I naturally hope that schools take advantage of this opportunity,” said Adlercreutz.
He underlined that the bill should not be misconstrued as an indication that the government is downplaying the importance of digital skills, with digital literacy still considered a key skill for pupils.
A number of advocacies for disabled people drew attention to the needs of disabled pupils during the public consultation period for the bill. Inclusion Finland (KVTL), for example, reminded that mobile devices can be important communication and learning tools for pupils with autism or intellectual disabilities.
Adlercreutz described the ban as an attempt to ensure pupils can learn without disturbances and to combat widening disparities between schools.
Presently the approach to smartphones varies from school to school, he reminded. Discussions with ministers indicate that some consider the situation highly problematic, whereas others have discovered effective ways to reduce smartphone use also within the bounds of the existing legislation.
Many cities, for example, have adopted their own practices toward smartphone use in schools. Outi Salo, the head of basic education at the City of Helsinki, told STT in August that most schools in the city added a ban on smartphone use to their code of conduct last spring. In Tampere, similarly, most schools have opted to ban smartphone use, said Kristiina Järvelä, the head of basic education at the City of Tampere.
Adlercreutz on Monday also expressed his delight with the support the bill garnered across parliamentary parties.
“A political unanimity within the government was found rather quickly, and I’ve been pleased that also the opposition seemed to be supportive of this,” he commented to reporters.
The government will next present the bill to parliament with a view to implementing the legislative reform in August 2025.
The bill would also introduce a provision to the basic education act that enables regional state administrative agencies to investigate at their own discretion whether schools have organised teaching in accordance with law. Another amendment is that a lifestyle that includes physical activity is introduced as an objective of basic education in an attempt to promote physical activity during the schoolday.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
