Denmark will ban mobile phones in schools, after a government committee recommended that children under 13 should not have their own smartphones.
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The Guardian reports :
The government has said it will change existing legislation to force all primary schools – general primary and lower secondary schools – to ban phones, meaning almost all children aged between seven and 16-17 will be required by law not to bring their phones to school.
The announcement marks a shift by the government, which had previously refused to pass such a law, and comes as governments across Europe seek to impose stricter regulations on children's access to phones and social media.
The Danish welfare commission was set up by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in 2023 to investigate the growing trend among children and young people. Its long-awaited report, published on Tuesday, sounded the alarm about the digitalisation of children and young people’s lives and called for a better balance between digital and analogue life. Among its 35 recommendations was the need for new government legislation to ban phones in schools.
The Minister of Education, Mattias Tesfaye, told Politiken:
"There is a need to reclaim school as an educational space, where there is room for reflection and where it is not an extension of the teenage bedroom."
There will be scope for local authorities to make exceptions, including for children with special educational needs, but as he said mobile phones and personal tablets “do not belong in school, not during breaks or lessons”.
George is still wondering what he is doing here….
