During class hours, students will no longer be able to use mobile phones. They will either leave them at the entrance to the school and will not be able to use them until after the end of the program, or they will store them in the classrooms, in special boxes and use them only during breaks. However, the decision remains at the discretion of the educational units, said the Minister of Education, Ligia Deca, on a television station. Therefore, the “burden” of implementing this regulation falls on the shoulders of directors.
Children have access to phones from younger and younger ages. Photo source: archive
“In the regulation for the organization and operation of the education system, the general one for the country, it is stipulated that telephones cannot be used during class hours. It was like that before. What we have introduced is the fact that the school, in its own regulation, can completely prohibit the use of mobile phones during the activity in the school. I left it up to the school because there are schools where parents can easily get to if there is an emergency, but there are also schools in remote areas where, for example, parents need to get in touch with students to know when to pick them up, when there is an emergency. Each school knows the community, knows the needs, knows the possibilities, and then they can decide either to go with the general rule, no phones during class, with a storage area at the entrance to the classroom, or to go with an even stricter rule, as I have seen in other European states: the complete ban of mobile phones in schools, of course, with the exceptions given for their use for educational purposes”, stated Ligia Deca.
“We will prepare special boxes for storing phones”
The decision, long analyzed and commented on, was received with great enthusiasm especially by the teachers. And many directors have already set to work. Romeo Zamfir, mathematics teacher and director at the “Vasile Alecsandri” National College in Galati, told Adevărul that students will have access to mobile phones in school, but they will not be able to use them in class. “We will prepare some special boxes where the students will store the gadgets. The boxes will be placed right in the classrooms. Last year, they were all with telephonesthem to them. The exception was only a few small classes. But in the big classes we had nothing to do but allow them the gadgets. Now, however, things will change. They will have to accept the new ruleProf. Romeo Zamfir told us.
“Let’s not let the children turn into savages!”
“There must be a rule that everyone follows. And not that I agree with this regulation, but I agree a thousand times with this measure”, the idea was also completed by Prof. Carmen Ștefan, director of the “Mihai Bravu” Technical College in Bucharest. “I was away on an ERASMUS and there was no question of any student having a phone in the classroom. They left them at the entrance of the school and took them when they left“, the teacher also specified. The teacher told us that the students of the high school she leads, during breaks, instead of going out and socializing, retreated to a corner of the classroom or in the hallways, engrossed in the screens. “What do we do? Do we let them turn into savages who no longer know how to talk to each other? Of course not! We must intervene! It is obvious that phones have no business in schools. Children no longer know how to socialize, they no longer know how to be friends, they no longer know how to kick a ball. We no longer say that their performance at school decreases, because they are no longer attentive in class, they can no longer concentrate. And we, as teachers, can no longer capture their attention. They are addicts.”
Director Carmen Ștefan told us about an even more worrying situation. There is a kindergarten in the courtyard of the high school, and some children have smartphones on them that they are playing with. “Yesterday, at lunchtime, there were about four small children on the bench. One had his phone with him, he was playing, and the others were sitting and looking at the screen. “My children, do you want me to give you a ball? Don’t you want to play? Not!” came the answer. It’s sad. I was pleasantly surprised by this decision. Something like this was needed, especially since I know very well how things work abroad. In Spain, for example. I went to a private school, a state school and a vocational school. You don’t enter anywhere with your phone in class.”
The director of the “Mihai Bravu” Technical College in Bucharest has decided to ban the access of students with phones in the school. Children can talk to their parents before entering the classroom and then leave their gadgets in a locker at the entrance. “He enters the school, he left his phone at the gate. Maybe we teach them to live without a phone as well”.
Minister Ligia Deca also wanted to mention the sanctions that students risk if they do not follow the rules imposed by the school management. “There are a number of sanctions in the regulation ranging from a verbal or written warning to the most serious sanction, which is expulsion. Depending on the gravity of the act, a sanction appropriate”.
