The Czech government yesterday endorsed a ban on the use of mobile phones and other electronic communication devices in schools, as proposed by Education Minister Robert Plaga and Prime Minister Andrej Babis (both ANO). Plaga said the cabinet’s support for the draft amendment to the education law was unanimous.
According to the opposition Civic Democratic Party (ODS), a blanket ban is a populist measure designed to win favour but aimed at undermining children’s digital literacy.
Children’s Ombudsman Martin Benes opposed the ban during the public consultation period. In his view, legal regulation is unnecessary because schools can already establish restrictions on phone use in their own rules and regulations. In his response yesterday, Plaga recommended that Benes read the entire proposal and visit schools that have already restricted phone use during breaks between lessons. “I think that based on that, he will change his mind and support this proposal,” he said.
Benes told CTK yesterday that his opinion remains the same. “I continue to have doubts about whether it is appropriate to apply the ban on mobile phones in schools on a national level,” he said. “I unequivocally support efforts to limit the negative effects of digital technologies on children. However, I believe we need to seek a comprehensive solution rather than pursuing individual, piecemeal measures, especially when their effectiveness has not been conclusively proven.”
ODS leader Martin Kupka raised similar arguments against the ban, claiming that the prime minister and the education minister want to lock children away in an open-air museum and turn teachers into school backpack inspectors.
“Blanket bans do not make children more resilient to the harmful algorithms of social media,” said Kupka. He argued that students will find ways to circumvent the ban, as experience from Australia shows.
Kupka said that a more effective solution would be his party’s proposal for schools to provide each student with their own electronic device, such as a tablet, equipped with apps solely for educational purposes and communication between the school and parents. Through these devices, children could safely develop digital literacy, meaning proficiency in using digital technologies.
The sponsors propose that the bill should take effect on 1 September 2027. According to the draft amendment, the ban on mobile phone use would apply to children in preschool, elementary school and the lower grades of multi-year secondary schools and conservatories. In addition to class time and breaks, the proposal would also cover the time children spend in the school cafeteria, after-school care or school clubs. For older students, school rules may restrict or prohibit mobile phone use, as has been the case so far.
“I have serious doubts that there is a valid reason to implement a nationwide ban on mobile phones,” Benes wrote in his statement. He said there was no expert consensus on the matter, and such a restriction could lead to a deterioration in children’s relationship with school.
“Children will view school negatively, as a place where a new rule, one they had no say in creating, restricts their freedom,” the children’s ombudsman said. He pointed out that nine out of ten schools have already addressed the use of cell phones in their rules and regulations. Furthermore, Benes argued that fostering students’ digital literacy, critical thinking, and ability to use technology safely and in a balanced way should be one of the goals of modern education.
“It strikes me that the Children’s Ombudsman, in his comments on cell phones, draws only on newspaper headlines without familiarising himself with the facts,” Plaga wrote in his response yesterday morning on Instagram. According to Plaga, Benes should visit schools that restrict mobile phone use even during breaks. “The atmosphere and the children’s satisfaction there speak for themselves,” he added. He made similar remarks yesterday afternoon at a press conference.
Babis and Plaga justify the blanket ban by citing recommendations from the National Institute of Mental Health. They point to the potential for addiction, depression and anxiety as well as reduced life satisfaction, loss of attention among children at school and poorer academic performance.
“As far as the question of the effects of banning mobile phone use in schools is concerned, experience from other countries (France, the Netherlands) demonstrates a positive impact on both students’ concentration on learning and their academic performance, as well as on the school climate and the incidence of bullying,” the sponsors wrote in the explanatory memorandum.
