Beijing: All primary and secondary school students in China will, in principle, be barred from bringing mobile phones to school, the Ministry of Education announced.
The new measure, aimed at protecting students’ eyesight, making sure they focus on study and preventing them from becoming addicted to the internet and online games, has sparked heated debate among parents over the practicality of implementation and the need to keep their children up to pace with phone-centered technological advances in everyday life.
When Dai Hanyang was in middle school, his head teacher brought a hammer to school to enforce a cellphone ban. “Seeing him using it to smash a classmate’s mobile phone really let us know that he meant business,” Dai said.
The 17-year-old, now a high school student in Changsha, Hunan province, said his school does not allow students to bring cellphones to campus and he never does.
“I am not good at self-discipline and I could not help but check WeChat messages or moments, so not having my cellphone with me helps me focus on studying,” he said.
Teachers will confiscate students’ mobile phones if they are caught playing with them during class and they are only returned after the semester ends, he said.
Parents will now need to submit a written application if their child needs to bring a mobile phone to school, the ministry said in a notice issued on Monday. In such cases the student should hand the cellphone to the school for custody during school time, it added.
– The Daily Mail-China Daily News exchange item
