Banning of phones in schools: The worldwide gamble between digital disruption and moral purity

So many years has passed since the Kenya’s Ministry of Education (MoE) banned phones in schools to prevent underage children from early exposure to hard contents meant for adults.

The main purpose was to keep minors’ mind pure, away from elements that could poison or cause intense harm to the school going children.

Balambala Sub county Quality Assurance Officer in Balambala in Garissa County, Abdirashid Mohamed maintains that the ban was necessary to keep children away from cyber bullying, terrorism extremism.

The Kenya National Union of teachers (KNUT) Garissa branch Executive Secretary Abdrizack Hussein says that the ban is recommended as  online contains various unpalatable contents that deliberately target special groups for example women or teens.

He added that even small negative bits can add up to affect mental health.  Hussein agrees tht protection from social media harm is thus necessary and essential.

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However, a spot check by Education News in Siaya and Garissa Counties revealed that as much as the ministry banned students from having phones in schools many families and homes don’t place such restrictions to their children of whatever age. Thus phones are easily accessible to even a 5 year old.

“I accept the possible misuse and abuse of phones by student, but come to think of it one may ask in case a student needs to communicate with a parent or whoever, do they have to contact the school Management? Can’t a student have some privacy?” poses Amos Aywago in Ururi village in Usigu Sub County.

Aywago further poses that this is the digital age, students make use of online access for education purpose. “How does the ban sit with digital space which currently ruling the global village?”

“Looks like that one hand that feeds you has the other hand snatching the food the other hand gifted,” laughs Aywago.

All in all the ban on phones placed on primary and secondary School students are on and inforce and as usual Kenyans have the right to talk on the pros and cons of the ban.

Interestingly be that so,  as Kenyans grapple with the debate on school banning students to have phones in  schools, European countries too are now vibrantly debating with intent  to enforce such phone  ban in high schools.

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Following, Australian ground breaking ban on children having phones in school in December last year, many European nations under the EU flag are debating their own restrictions. And with Australian law makers having most likely borrowed lessons from Kenyan ban, on January 15, French legislators approved a bill, on phone ban in French high schools. While calling on the bills fast tracking and approval the French President Emmanuel Macron said, “This is what scientists say and that is what the French people are overwhelmingly supporting.”

He went on to state, “Our children’s brains aren’t for sale, neither for American platform nor Chinese thinking. This is so because their dreams must not be dictated by algorithms.”

In restricting social media for all children under 15 the legislation goes a long way in banning smart phones in all French high schools.

Interestingly, the wave of phone banning in school seems to have voyaged a long from Kenya into Australian shores and now creating waves in the European Union (EU).

The general EU stand and view is that the ban of phones in high schools is to keep children out of harm. Young children and young people face an arrayed range of challenges online. They need protection from potential risks like cyber bullying and online predators, thus the need to restrict and curb access to phones to safeguard the young mind’s psychological and emotional well-being.

By OchiengD Ndiewo