Using your phone in class at school can get you in trouble almost anywhere in the world but France is taking it one step further. A new legislation has been introduced in the country which prohibits students from using smartphones and tablets in school. The legislation stems from a promise in President Emmanuel Macron’s election campaign. It has been treated as a matter of public health as concerns about France’s youth being unable to shake off its addiction to constant connectivity mount.
France previously banned smartphone usage in class. This has been the case since 2010. The new legislation kicks things up a notch by completely forbidding the usage of smartphones and tablets between classes and even during meal times. Schools will have the authority to make “pedagogical” exceptions.
The law comes into force as the new academic year begins this September. Schoolchildren in the country will have to leave their smartphones switched off while they’re at school or leave them at home altogether. The ban applies to pupils up to the age of 14-15. Almost nine in ten French teens between the ages of 12 to 17 own a smartphone.
It has been left up to secondary schools to decide individually whether or not they want to enforce this ban in their schools as well, either partially or totally. Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said that the earlier ban couldn’t be applied across the board and the new legislation rectifies that.
Filed in .. Source: engadget