The Ministry of Education (MEC) is finalizing a bill that provides for a ban on the use of cell phones in public and private schools in the country.
The measure should form part of a package with other initiatives discussed by the government to try to limit the use of equipment by children and adolescents in school environments.
According to the ministry, the initiative should be announced in October, on a date that has yet to be defined. The expectation is that the measures can provide legal certainty for states and municipalities that had already been discussing the ban.
In February, the use of cell phones and other technological devices was banned in public schools in Rio de Janeiro. The decree, signed by Mayor Eduardo Paes (PSD), vetoed the use of devices inside and outside the classroom, that is, during breaks and recess as well.
“School is a place to interact with friends and being on your cell phone disrupts social interaction, leaving children isolated on their own screen. And I emphasize that we are not against the use of technology in education, but it needs to be used consciously and responsibly. Otherwise, instead of an ally, it could become a villain in the educational process,” said Renan Ferreirinha, Secretary of Education in Rio, the first city in the country to enact a total ban on cell phones in schools.
In the Legislative Assembly of São Paulo, deputies debate a bill that limits the use of cell phones and other electronic devices in educational institutions. The proposal foresees that the use be restricted to pedagogical activities, with specific authorization.
In some units of the municipal network, use is already limited for students and teachers.
Despite Minister Camilo Santana’s defense, the measure is not a consensus among members of the ministry itself. Privately, department technicians who followed the discussion considered limiting the use of equipment in schools.
The argument is that it would be more valid to encourage the use of technology in an appropriate and monitored manner in pedagogical activities.
The ban is defended by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco). Countries such as Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom have already adopted the measure based on studies that indicate a negative correlation between the excessive use of technologies and academic performance.
