Education
Hessen plans mobile phone ban in schools
Children who chat about each other in schoolyards alone instead of playing or talking to each other: Hesse’s Minister of Education is a horror. That should change from August.
From the next school year 2025/2026, Hessen plans to prohibit the private use of cell phones in schools. However, the devices should be taken further there. According to the Ministry of Education in Wiesbaden, exceptional regulations can be introduced at secondary schools, for example for upper school students in certain rooms. Minister of Education Armin Schwarz (CDU) spoke overall of planned “smartphone protection zones”. “Bild” newspaper and “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” had previously reported.
From August 2025, cell phone use should remain allowed from August 2025, if teachers or schools allow this. “For example, this is about teaching in media education,” as the Hessian Ministry of Education from the German Press Agency announced. Private mobile phone usage in schools should only exist as a reasonable exception, for example in emergencies or for medical reasons. The plans also refer to other digital mobile devices such as smartwatches and tablets.
Hesse’s government factions from the CDU and SPD want to bring a draft law on the planned cell phone regulations at schools next Thursday (March 27) to the Wiesbaden state parliament. Minister Schwarz said: “We are now acting in Hesse because there is no time to lose and set standards nationwide.” His ministry added that, in addition to Hesse, only Bavaria has similarly wide regulations in schools. Baden-Württemberg announced on Wednesday that they wanted to restrict mobile phone use in schools.
Teachers should be able to collect cell phones
In the event of violations of the planned restrictions in Hesse, teachers should generally be able to collect a smartphone in one day until the end of the lesson. Thus, digital bus tickets could continue to be used for the way home.
Education Minister Schwarz said the dpa: “Our schools must be protected rooms in which our children and adolescents can learn from distraction and fears. We must not stand by and see how a outlining smartphone usage with partially disturbing content on social media continues to have a negative effect on the mental health and learning capacity of young people.”
dpa
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
