Controversy Surrounding Cell Phone Use in Schools: Lower Saxony Government Opposes Ban

Does a smartphone help at school or does it harm children’s education? This question is being discussed controversially, and the Lower Saxony state government has now taken a clear position and spoken out against a general ban on cell phones in all types of schools. A spokesman for Lower Saxony’s Ministry of Culture told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung that there are no plans to ban smartphones in schools, including primary schools.

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Education of media literacy

The state’s Minister of Education and Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Hamburg (Alliance 90/The Greens), added that cell phones and other digital devices have become an integral part of everyday life today. However, she also admitted that elementary school students “in principle” do not yet need their own cell phones. Smartphones in particular overwhelmed primary school students with what they had to offer. Hamburger spoke out against a ban and instead called on parents and teachers to closely accompany children and thus introduce them to the sensible use of cell phones.

According to the minister, schools in Lower Saxony pursue concepts for developing media skills that are age-appropriate. The state government will continue to support them in this work. According to the Ministry of Culture, the schools in Lower Saxony regulate the taking and use of smartphones under their own responsibility in accordance with their respective school regulations.

“Teachers are competent enough”

“Our school management and teachers are competent enough to decide and enforce this – also and especially from a pedagogical point of view,” emphasized spokesman Ulrich Schubert to the NOZ. “There are already some regulations – especially in primary schools – that prohibit the use of a cell phone/smartphone in school unless a teacher expressly allows this.”

The Education Minister of Schleswig-Holstein, CDU politician Karin Prien, recently called for the use of smartphones to be regulated in the state’s primary schools and for private use to be prevented during school hours.

(tiw)