On Tuesday 20 December, a circular, signed by the Minister of Education and Merit Giuseppe Valditara, was distributed to schools, containing indications on the use of cell phones and similar electronic devices in the classrooms.
The ban on using mobile phones during lessons is confirmed, “since it is an element of distraction for one’s own and others and a lack of respect for teachers, to whom it is a priority to restore authority”, says the minister. The circular does not introduce disciplinary sanctions. The use of cell phones and other electronic devices may be permitted for educational purposes.
The prohibition on using mobile phones during lessons is therefore confirmed in the ministerial circular, “since it is an element of one’s own and others’ distraction and a lack of respect for teachers”, as already established by the Statute of female and male students of 1998 and from the ministerial circular n. 30 of 2007.
“The interest of male and female students, which we must protect, is to stay in the classroom to learn – says Minister Valditara – being distracted with cell phones does not allow you to follow lessons profitably and is also a lack of respect for the figure of the teacher, to whom it is a priority to restore authority.
The common interest that I intend to pursue is that of a serious school, which puts learning and commitment back at the centre. A recent fact-finding survey by the VII commission of the Senate has also highlighted the harmful effects that the careless use of electronic devices can have on concentration, memory and the critical spirit of young people.
The school must be the place where the talents and creativity of young people are enhanced, not mortified with repeated abuse of mobile phones. With the circular, we are not introducing disciplinary sanctions, we are referring to a sense of responsibility. We also invite schools to ensure compliance with the rules in force and to promote, if necessary, more stringent additions to the regulations and educational co-responsibility pacts, to effectively prevent the improper use of these devices.
The use of cell phones and other electronic devices can obviously be permitted, with the authorization of the teacher, and in compliance with the institute regulations, for educational, inclusive and training purposes, also within the scope of the objectives of the National Digital School Plan (PNSD ) and “digital citizenship”.
The risks to children’s health that may derive from the continued use of cell phones are highlighted in the final report, distributed as an attachment to the circular, of the fact-finding survey carried out in the last legislature by the 7th Commission of the Senate «On the impact of digital technology on students, with particular reference to learning processes.
CODACONS: STOP WITHOUT SANCTIONS IS LITTLE
The circular sent to schools, signed by Minister Valditara, containing indications on the use of mobile phones and similar electronic devices in the classrooms, is good for Codacons, but the problem remains of the absence of sanctions against institutions that do not comply with the provisions .
«The ban on the use of mobile phones at school has already been envisaged for years by national provisions – explains the president Carlo Rienzi -. Since 2007, ministerial directive 104 forbids students to use mobile phones or other electronic devices during teaching activities, a provision unfortunately never respected in Italian schools.
The problem, if anything, is the absence of sanctions against institutions that do not comply with the provisions: in this sense, the minister’s circular risks being of little use and not changing the abuses that are committed in Italian classrooms, where cell phones are not they only represent a source of distraction, but are often used for bullying and serious violations of privacy», adds Rienzi.
For this reason, Codacons invites parents to inform the association of schools that do not enforce the prohibitions on the use of mobile phones in the classroom and will report the principals to the prosecutors for non-compliance with the authority’s provisions.
THE SCHOOL MANAGERS: NO SCANDAL
“No scandal: even teachers must not use cell phones in class”. So to Ansa Attilio Fratta who heads the Dirigentiscuola union and who says he has congratulated Minister Valditara on the circular on the subject.
«I know many teachers who use the cell phone for educational purposes – he adds – it’s right to use it for these purposes, for other reasons it shouldn’t be had. We need to educate families first of all, you don’t bring your cell phone to school. For any emergency there are the secretariats of the schools ».
Fratta recounts that at the Marconi high school, where he was headmaster, no serious punishments were imposed «those who dirty, for example, had to clean it, those who broke something, repair it. Sure, the punishment shouldn’t be suspension, punishments are positive but they shouldn’t be confused with the concept of humiliation. Man is a product of culture: he educates himself ».
STUDENTS: THE MINISTER LOOKS BACK
«The circular on the use of mobile phones in the classroom is yet another proof that the Minister of Education Giuseppe Valditara does not want a school that trains the citizens of the future, but on the contrary he wants a school that looks to the past and is afraid of the future. We need education on the responsible use of telephones». So at Ansa Tullia Nargiso, of the Lazio student network.