Gadget-free schools bill filed in Senate

A bill prohibiting kindergarten to senior high school students and teachers in all public and private schools from using mobile phones and gadgets during class hours has been filed in the Senate.

Senate Bill 2706 or the proposed Electronic Gadget-Free Schools Act was filed by Senate basic education committee chairman Sherwin Gatchalian, noting the negative effects of excessive use of mobile devices to learners' performance.

Under the proposed measure, all basic education students are prohibited to use phones and other electronic gadgets within the school premises during their class hours.

School premises in SB 2706 include classrooms, laboratories, bathrooms, gymnasiums, canteens or cafeterias, school club rooms, swimming pools, teachers' lounges, and school offices.

Teachers and faculty members are likewise barred from using their gadgets during their designated teaching hours in classrooms.

The use of gadgets is only allowed for "learning-related exceptions, health and well-being related exceptions, and exceptions related to managing risks."

SB 2706 mandates the Department of Education to formulate and promulgate guidelines on the prohibition of the use of mobile devices and electronic gadgets while ensuring that private education institutions provide the same guidelines.

The bill proposes sanctions, which will be imposed by the DepEd, to public and private schools that fail to comply.

Learners will likewise be subjected to appropriate sanctions provided in the school policies as set by DepEd.

The ban on the use of phones in schools was first floated by Gatchalian in April.

In filing SB 2706, Gatchalian cited an analysis of Philippine data from the Programme for International Student Assessment 2022 which showed that eight in every 10 Filipino learners aged 15 reported that they got distracted in class by using their smartphones and that 9 in every 10 also reported that they got distracted in class by other students who are using smartphones.

According to the lawmaker, the same analysis revealed that distraction due to smartphone use is correlated with a decrease in performance of about 9.3 points in mathematics, 12.2 points in science, and 15.04 points in reading.

Aside from the effects on learners' academic performance, Gatchalian said that access to such devices "seems likely to mediate involvement in cyberbullying."

Supporting the need for this measure, Gatchalian mentioned the 2023 Global Education Monitoring report published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization which recommended stricter regulation against use of mobile phones in class.

The UNESCO report found that only 13% of countries in the world have laws partially or fully banning mobile phone use in schools, while 14% of countries have policies, strategies, or guidelines for the same purpose.—AOL, GMA Integrated News