Mint Explainer: Why UNESCO wants a global smartphone ban in schools
435-page report released on Wednesday. It said that while large-scale international assessment data, such as that provided by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), suggest a negative link between excessive use of information and communications technology (ICT) and student performance, less than one in four schools have banned smartphones. UNESCO acknowledges that distance-learning tools deployed via the Internet, television and even radio were crucial during the pandemic, and can also help differently abled children who may struggle in a traditional, in-person setting.
But, it adds, these tools have many downsides too, which on the whole warrant a ban. To begin with, smartphones can increase the digital divide in schools. UNESCO argues that while technology offers an "education lifeline for millions", it excludes many more.
The report underscores that a third of pupils do not have effective access to distance learning since only 40% of primary schools worldwide currently have Internet access. The rapid shift to online learning during the pandemic, for instance, left out an estimated 500 million students worldwide, mostly from marginalised, rural communities. A large number of schools in low- and middle-income countries, especially primary schools, do not even have electricity.
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