Cell phones to be banned in Swedish schools

According to a new agreement between Sweden’s Tidö parties, Swedish primary schools will be completely free of cell phones, even during breaks. The change is aimed at improving students’ concentration and learning, the lack of which has been blamed on the increased use of cell phones in schools.

The government says it has agreed with the Sweden Democrats that primary schools should be completely phone-free and that this should become the norm throughout the country. Last year, the Education Act was amended so that students can only use cell phones in class when instructed by a teacher, and the possibility of confiscating misused cell phones was also increased.

The new agreement would make the law even stricter.

– It is now well-documented that it is natural for students in grades 1-9 not to have cell phones during the school day, even during recess. We need to increase learning and knowledge acquisition in Swedish schools, Liberal Party leader Johan Pehrson, minister for employment and integration, told TT.

In a debate article published in the Schibsted newspaper Aftonbladet, the Tidö parties point out the disadvantages of cell phones in Swedish schools. Among other things, they mention the latest Pisa survey, which shows that about a quarter of Sweden’s 15-year-olds cannot read or count correctly.

In practice, cell phones are collected in the morning at a “phone hotel” and returned at the end of the school day. However, school principals may make individual exceptions to the ban.

The cell phone ban is expected to go into effect as soon as possible, but according to Pehrson, it may take a year to fully prepare the legislation.