The French Minister of Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, announced that from the next school year the use of mobile phones will be banned for elementary and middle school students. The measure, which was promised during the election campaign by French President Emmanuel Macron, will affect all children up to 14-15 years of age. Since 2010, a ban has already been in force in French schools that prevents cell phones from being consulted during class hours, while their use is allowed during breaks between one subject and another, at lunch and during breaks. The new rule will extend the ban also to breaks, thus prohibiting the use of mobile phones for the entire time students stay in schools.
Blanquer explained that his ministry is still working to find the right compromise, allowing for example the use of mobile phones in emergencies or for educational purposes. One hypothesis is to set up lockers in each class where students are obliged to deposit their smartphones, to collect them at the end of the day. Some teachers have been using this method for some time, having their cell phones handed out before starting class or during classwork, to prevent students from copying or searching for answers to their tests online.
According to estimates by Le Monde, in recent years the number of French students who bring cell phones to school has increased significantly: from 2011 to 2015 it went from 2 to 8 students out of 10. Parents allow their children to keep a cell phone around 9 years of age, when they start going to school alone. Many parents are skeptical of Blanquer's initiative, as they believe it will lead to complications and confusions. Some teachers feel the same way, especially the idea of having to monitor their students and collect dozens of cell phones every day. Others believe instead that the provision is right, considering that students are constantly distracted during class hours by secretly using their smartphones (not that before smartphones there were no excuses to be distracted in class, of course).
Blanquer had already in the past advocated the need to ban mobile phones in elementary and middle school. In an interview in September, he argued that it was necessary: “Find a way with school leaders, teachers and parents to protect our students from the distractions of phones and screens. During our councils of ministers, we put smartphones away in a locker before we begin. It seems to me that it is practicable for a group of people, therefore also in a classroom “.
