“They see the tree but miss the forest.” Only this adage is appropriate in the case of the debate about cell phones in schools, since all the parties involved focus on the detail that for some hours the children will not have access to their devices and let the bottom line go unnoticed, which is the fact that they will change the image that is observed in schools and concerns the alienation of students, while it is very likely to improve student results, something for which all the agencies have a strong opinion and want to change absolutely.
Last Wednesday, the debate was opened before the Education Committee of the Parliament on the change in the operating regulations of the Secondary Education schools (including Middle Schools, High Schools and Technical Schools), so that they are consistent with the changes voted in the Primary Schools and specifically to there is a clear clause to prohibit the use of mobile phones, during the stay of students in schools, until the last bell of the day. During the debate, the Ministry of Education had stated that the proposal in question is being promoted on the basis of scientific data and evidence from research, which showed that in countries where such a provision has been implemented, the data on student performance are significantly improved in relation to with the countries that do not apply it.
READ HERE: The Ministry of Education clarifies the ban on cell phones in schools-The answer to Michailidou
At the same time, during the debate, it was heard that mobile phones are a tool in the hands of students, which causes an increase in delinquency, given that there are often purposes behind the video recording of incidents in schools. The report by the president of OELMEK, Dimitris Taliadoros, that students decided to destroy a room in order to make a video should ring a bell, while many times Mr. Taliadoros had reported on imitation, that is, the students copied incidents they saw in the media social networking, as they were in other schools.
It is undeniable that the root of the problem of violence and delinquency in schools is deep and mobile phones are only one part, but this particular proposal comes to contribute to the change. The report of Mr. Taliadoros seemed to have fallen on deaf ears, since most of the MPs did not seem to react. On the contrary, despite the alarming reports, both of violence and delinquency, and of the fact that there was a case of a final year student, who was caught with a mobile phone on his leg during exams and cut, even the next day, there were public statements that the Ministry of Education misled and did not convince with his intentions.
The main argument of those who consider that this proposal is not applicable, is that children should have access to technology in order to keep up with the times, while as heard, the Ministry of Education had to promote regulations in this direction. However, they ignored reports and suggestions that the use of tablets and other modern devices during lessons or reports that students did not even know how to turn on the computers when asked.
In the meantime, parents' concerns that children feel alienated or that students are left alone during recess, with only their cell phones as company, either because they lack the skills to socialize, or because others choose to isolate. At the very least, these reports should have caused MPs some concern, but beyond specific MPs, some chose to divert the debate, either with references to air conditioners or reports of problems with the application.
READ HERE: “Students destroyed a room to make a video”-Opinions on mobile phones in schools differ
The fact that the proposal stalled shows that there is a gap between the sides that needs to be bridged. The bet of the Ministry of Education was to pass the regulations before the summer, to start the new year with new data. The loopholes created by the Ministry of Education itself, when it did not cover the issue of penalties for students caught using their mobile phones, as well as how the proposal would be implemented, was one of the catalytic reasons that the debate it was moved to September.
However, the attitude of the Education Committee also raises some questions, considering that for other issues there was an intention to include additional sessions, even in days that the Commission would not meet, in order to reach a conclusion. However, the same intention was not evident in this matter, which caused dissatisfaction in the Ministry of Education, which tabled the bill in its urgent form.
The summer is expected to be full, both for the Ministry of Education and for the involved bodies, if they want to find a common line on the issue, with the course of the discussions clarifying the attitudes and positions of each involved.
READ HERE: Vacuses are putting the brakes on the ban on the use of mobile phones in schools-In… silent on the bill until further notice
