Experts consult

Carinthia plans to ban cell phones in elementary schools

Smartphones should soon be history in Carinthian elementary school!

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com)

It's a much-discussed topic: the cell phone ban! On Monday, education officer Daniel Fellner made a move in this matter.

"Cell phones have no place in the classroom. Our aim is to promote children's concentration and social interaction," said SPÖ state councillor and education officer Daniel Fellner on Monday. For this reason, a decree is currently being drawn up to ban smartphones from Carinthian elementary school.

"We want to offer our youngest pupils in particular a distraction-free learning and development space," said Fellner, who is also calling for a uniform nationwide solution to the issue of cell phone use in the classroom.

The declared aim is to draw up joint recommendations for Carinthia in order to then bring about uniformly applicable regulations with the new federal government

Bildungsreferent Daniel Fellner, SPÖ

Ban and regulated use
While cell phones are to be completely banned for primary school children, a "nuanced approach" is planned for 10 to 14-year-olds (middle school and lower secondary school). A working group of experts is to draw up guidelines and recommendations in the coming weeks. The focus will be on educational, social and technological aspects.

"In fact, there are countless studies that point to links between attention deficits and increasing cell phone use. We need to take action here. I think we all have the same interests here, namely the well-being of our children," says Fellner. Until now, the education officer had always referred to school autonomy, but now he wants to "intervene": "Time and again, teachers and parents approach me with the desire to take action."

For Fellner, the aim is to "create responsible and modern regulations that support both the educational mission and the development of pupils."

ÖVP demands ban for the entire compulsory school sector
The SPÖ provincial councillor receives support from ÖVP leader Martin Gruber, who welcomes his colleague's initiative: "We must protect our children from digital dangers. Cell phones have no place in the classroom. Experts have long warned of the consequences of excessive use, and many children and their parents are unfortunately already feeling the effects."

However, according to Gruber, the ban should apply to the entire compulsory school sector: "Basic digital education is important so that children and young people learn how to use technology. Games, videos and chats - they are all distracting and reduce learning success. That's why private cell phones should be banned from the classroom."

"We don't believe in blanket bans"
Gerhard Köfer, head of Team Kärnten, takes a completely different view: "Our approach is that the use of cell phones in lessons should be regulated autonomously at school with the involvement of school management, teachers and parents. We don't believe in blanket bans." 

TK boss Köfer is in favor of clearly regulating the use of cell phones in the classroom at the level of the respective school: "Mobile phones should be allowed to be used if they are integrated into lessons in a sensible way. The fact is that technology is constantly evolving and the education sector must face up to this."