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“pretty well overall”. “The use of mobile phones in middle schools is very low today”, he said, adding that in case of a problem “we have the means to act”. The experiment comes after Macron said in January he wanted to “regulate the use of screens among young children.”

According to a report submitted to Macron, children under 11 should not be allowed to use phones, while access to social networks should be limited for pupils under 15. With an increasing amount of research showing the risks of excessive screen time for children, the concern has become a Europe-wide issue. Sweden’s Public Health Agency said this week children under the age of two should be kept away from digital media and television completely and it should be limited for more senior ages.

One of Britain’s biggest mobile network operators, EE, has warned parents they should not give smartphones to children under the age of 11. The French education ministry hopes that the cellphone-free environment would improve “school climate” and reduce instances of violence including online harassment and dissemination of violent images.

The ministry also wants to improve student performance because the use of telephones harms “the ability to concentrate” and “the acquisition of knowledge”. The experiment also aims to “raise pupils’ awareness of the rational use of digital tools”. Jerome Fournier, national secretary of the SE-UNSA teachers’ union, said the experiment will seek “to respond to the difficulties of schools for which the current rule is not sufficient”, even if “in the vast majority of schools it works”.

According to the education ministry, “it is up to each establishment to determine practical arrangements”, with the possibility of setting up a locker system. Pupils will have to hand in their phones on arrival, putting them in boxes or lockers. They will collect them at the end of classes. The ban also extends to extracurricular activities and school trips.

But the enforcement of the measure across all schools in France from January 2025 could be expensive. According to local authorities, the measure could cost “nearly €130 million” for the 6,980 middle schools in France. If a phone goes missing from a locker, this would also cause an added financial problem. Education Minister Nicole Belloubet said on Tuesday that the ban would be “put in place gradually”. “The financial costs seem quite modest to me”, she added.

Many are skeptical. For the leading middle and high school teachers’ union Snes-FSU, the ban raises too many questions. “How will things work on arrival?” wondered the head of the union, Sophie Venetitay. “How will things work during the day,” she said, adding that some students have two mobile phones. The SE-UNSA teachers’ union also expressed reservations.

“We’re going to need staff to manage arrivals, drops-off and departures, and the collection of mobile phones,” said Fournier. “Sometimes pupils just have time to put their things away when classes end, and run to the bus so as not to miss it”, he added. Bobkiewicz of SNPDEN-Unsa, France’s top union of school principals, agreed. He said he did not want to rummage through pupils’ bags to look for their phones. “It’s going to be complicated to implement.” — AFP