Students in Brazil will not be able to use their cell phones in the primary and secondary schoolsafter the approval this Wednesday of a law by Congress, amid warnings about the harmful effects of screens on the health and learning of young people.
Legislators, parents and the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva have called limit the use of cell phones in educational centers.
More than half of Brazilian adolescents between 10 and 13 years old have a mobile phone. Proportion that rises to 87.6% among adolescents between 14 and 17 years old.
According to government data Internet Steering Committeealmost two thirds of the country’s schools restrict by their own decision the use of mobile devices, while only 28% prohibit them completely.
The law, which affects students between 4 and 17 years old, was approved by the Senate and must now go through President Lula to be punished.
To “safeguard the mental, physical and psychological health of children and adolescents”, cell phones will be banned in schools, both in classrooms and during recessaccording to the text.
The standard exceptionally allows the use of electronic devices to pedagogical purposes or why accessibility causes.
Schools will also need to create strategies to address mental health problems associated with the use of these devices.
The ban on cell phones in schools is supported by 82% of Brazilian parentshe said Locomotiva Institute and QuestionPro in a poll in October.
The Minister of Education, Camilo Santanahas been in favor of putting a “limit” on cellular devices in schools.
“Experiences around the world have shown the prejudice in an attention deficit due to the use of cellular devices in classrooms,” Santana told reporters in November.
“The cell phone ended people’s socialization. A limit is needed”he added.
“Banning mobile phones in schools improves academic performance, especially for low-performing students,” UNESCO said in a 2023 report.
But at the same time, “protecting students from new and innovative technologies can put them at a disadvantage.”
Globally, less than a quarter of countries have laws or policies that prohibit cell phones in schools, according to UNESCO.
(With information from AFP)
