‘From first to last bell’: Mobile phones are BANNED in public schools across Victoria in a bid to clamp down on cyberbullying
- Victorian public school students will be banned from using their phones in 2020
- The ban comes after one state school said their phone ban had been positive
- Students will be forced to switch phones off and store them in lockers at school
- They will only be able to access them after the final bell and when they leave
- Exceptions will be made for students who monitor health conditions on phones
Victorian public school students will be banned from using their phones from next year.
Students will have to switch off their phones and store them in lockers until the final bell, Education Minister James Merlino announced.
‘This will remove a major distraction from our classrooms, so that teachers can teach, and students can learn in a more focused, positive and supported environment,’ he said in a statement.
‘Half of all young people have experienced cyberbullying. By banning mobiles we can stop it at the school gate.’
In the case of an emergency, parents or guardians can reach their child by calling the school.
Victorian public school students will be banned from using their phones from next year.
The only exceptions to the ban will be where students use phones to monitor health conditions, or where teachers instruct students to bring their phone for a particular classroom activity.
The ban will start from term one in 2020.
It comes after McKinnon Secondary College banned phones from its grounds and reported students as being more focused during class and communicating more in the school yard.
In February 2018, ahead of the November state election, the Liberals announced a policy of banning students from using phones in classrooms.
At the time the Andrews government said bans were the decision of individual schools.
‘I guess policy imitation is the greatest form of flattery,’ former Liberal leader Matthew Guy tweeted on Tuesday night.
Students will have to switch off their phones and store them in lockers until the final bell