On Feb 2, The Ministry of Education (MOE) announced that students are not allowed to carry cell phones into local Beijing primary and elementary schools, in order to protect against internet addiction and promote the physical and mental health of students. If a phone is required for a practical reason, the parent must acquire written permission from the school. Even if permission is granted, the phone will not be allowed to stay with the student during class time, according to the new policy. Additional requirements are for schools to install public phones and also decrease the amount of homework given to older students on their phones.
These regulations come two years after laws that limit online gaming time for children and excessive homework time for younger grades, a move specifically implemented to decrease eyesight problems in children such as nearsightedness and myopia, thought to be caused by excessive screentime. Phones in the classroom have been a hot topic around the world since a cell phone became as normal to teens’ lives as rebellion and standardized testing, but is often left up to each school to decide their own rules. As it stands now, this new policy only applies to local schools and not international private institutions.
According to the MOE announcement, if students bring their phones to school then they must give them to teachers who will keep them in lockboxes. But how does that work in practice? Jennifer Sachs, Administrative Principal of Hyde Academy which teaches Grades 1-12, says they’ve implemented a policy like this for the last five years. “If they absolutely need to use their phone for a specific purpose,” she explained to beijingkids, “they may ask for permission. Otherwise, they are dropped off at 8.30am and picked up when they leave the school.”
Sachs says the key is “to help students develop habits that do not require phones or other electronics. Now we find that students read, chat, play cards, play chess, and of course, go outside when the weather is good. This is really only an issue during break times as they are quite busy the rest of the time!”
Hyde Academy has found the practice very effective but Sachs admits it might be difficult for schools to transition to such a change right away. Even now, “If students are found with a phone at any point during the day, it is put into the locked box [that each homeroom teacher had], and any staff member (teacher or support staff) have a right to do this. Generally, our students are very aware of the policy now and do not try to ‘cheat’ the system.”
What do you think about the policy? Do you use a phone to communicate with your child(ren) when they’re in school? Will it matter if you can’t talk to them during the school day? Would you support the policy if it comes to your school? Sound off in the comments below!
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Photos: Jonathan Tsao, Canva
