The Balearic Islands prohibit the use of mobile phones by early childhood and primary education students and limits their use to ESO and Baccalaureate. There will be a prohibition during the school day, which includes school hours, recess and periods dedicated to carrying out of complementary and extracurricular activities.
This tool may only be used if it is expressly provided for in the center's educational project for certain moments with a completely didactic purpose and previously justified pedagogical criteria, in addition to medical or personal issues of importance.
The Balearic Minister of Education, Antoni Vera, has communicated this decision and assures that it has been agreed upon with the educational community, to whom he has presented a draft of the instruction that will be approved shortly. The Ministry informs that students who need the telephone to attend to their personal needs, especially those of a medical nature, will be excluded from this limitation.
The limitation also affects the center's teaching staff, who may use the mobile phone in accordance with exclusively educational purposes. The limitation of the use of mobile phones and devices will be included in the organization and operating rules of each center, although the principle of center autonomy will be respected so that the centers are the ones who regulate the use of mobile phones.
The Ministry has reported that, in the event that misuse of mobile phones is detected that affects the rules of coexistence, the teaching staff may apply corrective measures, among which is considered the removal of the student's mobile device, which It will only be returned to the student's legal representatives.
In a statement, the Government points out that, to improve the use of new technologies, the Department of Education and Universities will offer specific training programs aimed at teaching staff on education in security and digital privacy and, in addition, will promote workshops aimed at families. on the safe and responsible use of the Internet, mobile devices and social networks by children.
A group of parents from the islands had joined the project started by Catalan parents to limit the use of mobile phones or even to ensure that children under 12 years of age do not have access to this tool. Penalties for cell phone use will be decided by the centers themselves, although students request that, if applied with the removal of cell phones, they should be limited to a few hours and not extended to entire days.
