Prohibited in class, at recess or in extracurricular activities in general. From now on, children and adolescents in Aragon will see the use of mobile phones and other electronic devices limited during their school day in non-university centers (primary, secondary and FP) financed with public money. A measure that follows in the wake of those adopted in other communities governed by the PP (Galicia, Andalusia, Castilla y León or Madrid) and which aims to “improve coexistence.”
Even so, the measure sent today to the centers also includes certain exceptions. Among them, it is contemplated that the use of these devices is included in the educational project of the school or institute for specific moments in which the teacher of a certain subject uses it for teaching purposes. Or that the parents have conveyed the need for the minor to use the mobile phone – for example, because he needs to call them – during the school day.
Specifically, it also contemplates that Higher Level Vocational Training centers, Special Regime or Adult, in which the students are of legal age, may adapt the rules regarding the use of mobile phones during moments of rest during the day. (class changes, recess, etc.).
In the words of the Minister of Education, Claudia Pérez, the limitation now adopted “serves as an umbrella” for schools and institutes and reinforces the management teams, since it includes corrective measures such as the possible removal of devices in case of improper use.
The search will have to be done once the student turns off the device and in the presence of at least two members of the management team. The device in question will be kept in custody until it is returned to the legal representatives of the student involved.
The counselor assured that these devices are “fundamental” within the framework of the “technological revolution” that we are experiencing. Even so, she recognizes that misuse of mobile phones and other electronic devices (such as smart watches), especially at a young age, can have harmful effects and lead to physical and mental problems. “It is evident that they generate attention deficit, mental health problems or cyberbullying, that is why we think we have to act,” she added.
Until now, it was the Aragonese centers themselves who provided in their internal regulations – prepared by the management team and approved by the School Council – whether the use was authorized or not, in which spaces and at what times.
With the instructions issued today, Pérez assures that they “show the way” for a calmer debate that they want to carry out within the Aragon School Council with the entire educational community, with which they will seek to reach the greatest possible consensus in the face of a regulation that regulates this issue more exhaustively.
In addition, the department will offer specific training programs aimed at teachers and management teams and will design workshops aimed at families on safe and responsible use of the internet, mobile devices and social networks.
However, the Government’s ways in announcing the measure have generated negative reactions. The Independent Trade Union Center and Civil Servants (CSIF) have criticized that Education has published these instructions “without prior information or negotiation with the educational community.”
“We agree that it is necessary to regulate the use of mobile phones in classrooms to facilitate coexistence, control incorrect use and promote their potential. Mobile phones can be a good educational tool if used correctly,” said the person in charge of Education at CSIF Aragón, Mónica de Cristóbal. Even so, she added that now it will be the teachers and management teams who will have to confiscate the students’ cell phones. “We are not police officers. This obligation will put us in a very complicated situation,” she noted.
