Schools move to go 'phone-free' as classroom bans fall short

A survey found that four in 10 elementary school students said they struggle to stop using smart devices on their own. Pictured are elementary school students using smartphones. [Generated via ChatGPT]

Since the first semester of this year, students at elementary, middle and high schools nationwide have been barred in principle from using smartphones during class — but because the law covers only instructional time, schools are grappling with what to do beyond it.

Decisions on whether to collect phones at the school gate, and whether to allow use during breaks and lunch, are left to individual schools. At some, students hand in a spare "dummy phone" while keeping their real device hidden; others find ways to bypass restrictions on school-issued tablets.

With standards varying from school to school, the Ministry of Education and provincial and metropolitan education offices are now moving in the second semester to curb smartphone use across the entire school day, not just during lessons. Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province are pursuing "phone-free" policies that restrict use even during breaks and lunch, while Seoul is placing greater emphasis on having students, teachers and parents work together to craft school-specific rules rather than imposing a blanket ban.

A child plays a game on a smartphone last month. [Getty Images]

Gyeonggi to designate 300 phone-free schools; Gangwon to roll out basic handsets

According to education officials, the Ministry of Education has instructed schools nationwide to incorporate smartphone restrictions into their school rules or student conduct regulations by Aug. 31. The ministry plans to pilot a "smartphone-free school" program at 200 volunteer schools next month, with plans to expand to 400 schools next year.

The revised Elementary and Secondary Education Act passed the National Assembly last August and took effect in March, in principle prohibiting students from using smartphones and other smart devices during class. The law left it to individual schools to decide whether to collect phones outright and whether to restrict use during breaks and lunch.

"Until now, regulation of smart devices outside class hours was left entirely to each school's discretion, leading to wide variation," a Ministry of Education official said. "There is a need to update school-level rules in line with the revised law."

The 17 provincial and metropolitan education offices are each drawing up their own policies. The Gyeonggi Province Office of Education plans to designate 300 "phone-free schools" by the end of this year, in effect banning smartphone use unrelated to educational activities. Schools will be encouraged to replace screen time with reading, cultural and arts activities, and sports.

The Gangwon Province Office of Education will also launch a pilot program next month at 10 elementary, middle and high schools and three kindergartens under its "smartphone-clean school" initiative, restricting phone use not only during class but also during breaks and while students wait for school buses. Next year, the office plans to distribute 10,000 "clean phones" — devices with internet access blocked, capable only of calls, text messages and location tracking. The Daegu and North Jeolla Province education offices are pursuing similar pilot programs starting in the second semester.

Among Seoul's 1,311 elementary, middle and high schools, the most common policy — at 872 schools, or 66.5 percent — allows students to keep their smartphones but bans use during class without collecting the devices. [Provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education / produced with ChatGPT]

Seoul favors consensus over blanket collection; students and teachers divided

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education held a major forum on Friday at its headquarters in Yongsan-gu, bringing together students, teachers and parents to discuss options including full phone collection, self-regulation and the use of alternative devices. Among Seoul's 1,311 elementary, middle and high schools, the most common approach — at 872 schools, or 66.5 percent — allows students to keep their phones but bans use during class without collecting them. A total of 378 schools, or 28.8 percent, collect phones before class begins, while 36 schools, or 2.8 percent, collect them only during class periods.

The forum revealed sharp divisions among students, teachers and parents over how strictly to regulate devices. Choi On-woo, a student at Jamsin High School, said blanket restrictions covering tablets and laptops used for self-study could infringe on students' right to learn, and argued that rules should be tailored to actual usage. Kim Gang-woo, a student at Seoil Middle School, said students should be given the opportunity to develop the ability to manage their own screen time.

Taking the opposite view, Lee Ho-wook, a teacher at Banghak Middle School, said teachers end up spending energy they should devote to lessons on catching students who use devices covertly and arguing with them. "Students and their smart devices need to be physically separated, at least while they are at school," he said. Seo Dong-gyu, a parent from Gocheok High School, supported a full in-school collection policy but said exceptions should be made for emergency contact and educational activities.

The Seoul education office is focused less on imposing a single uniform policy and more on helping each school build student conduct rules through consensus among its community. Seoul Superintendent of Education Jeong Geun-sik said the office would "actively support the establishment of democratic consultation as a school culture in the process of drafting and revising student conduct regulations, including smartphone restrictions."

As classroom smartphone restrictions expand, however, the debate is expected to intensify. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea recommended in February that a high school which had imposed a blanket ban on in-school phone use revise its conduct rules, saying the policy "excessively infringes on students' basic rights."

brunch@heraldcorp.com