Denmark To Ban Mobile Phones In Schools and After-School Clubs
Denmark is set to ban mobile phones in schools and after-school clubs, following a government commission's recommendation that children under 13 should not have their own smartphones. The Guardian reports: The government said it would change existing legislation to force all folkeskole -- comprehensive primary and lower secondary schools -- to become phone-free, meaning that almost all children aged between seven and 16-17 will be required by law not to bring their phones into school. The announcement marks a U-turn by the government, which had previously refused to introduce such a law. It comes as governments across Europe are trying to impose tighter regulations on children's access to phones and social media.
The Danish wellbeing commission was set up by the prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, in 2023 to investigate growing dissatisfaction among children and young people. Its long-awaited report, published on Tuesday, raised the alarm over the digitisation 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 government legislation banning phones from schools and after-school clubs.
The minister for children and education, Mattias Tesfaye, told Politiken: "There is a need to reclaim the 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 he said mobile phones and personal tablets "do not belong in school, neither during breaks nor during lessons." He said the government had started preparing a legislative amendment.
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