Total ban: Education removes all cell phones and smart watches from schools and colleges.

BarcelonaTotal siege of cell phones in the classroom. This Friday, the Regional Minister of Education, Esther Niubó, announced that next school year, cell phones and smart watches will have to be completely eliminated—and therefore banned—at all stages of compulsory education. No student will be allowed to use a cell phone at school or in high school.

The Education Ministry's announcement comes just days before the end of the first school year with the restriction on cell phones in the classroom. The previous government had already banned cell phones in schools and had established that in high schools, cell phone use should be limited to specific educational activities. Now, cell phones may not be used in any type of situation in preschool, primary, and secondary school classrooms. However, it remains to be seen how this ban will be managed in schools that combine compulsory secondary education with higher levels, such as high school and vocational training, which are exempt from the ban because they are post-compulsory studies.

Beyond the ban on cell phones and smartwatches, the Government also wants to "progressively" eliminate digital tablets in preschool (students aged 3, 4, and 5) while ensuring "sufficient availability" of these devices for occasional uses in the remaining educational stages. Furthermore, a "progressive restriction" on digital whiteboards in preschool classrooms will be encouraged (though not required), although they will remain in place at all other educational stages. According to the Government, the goal is that by 2028, tablets and digital whiteboards will no longer be used in preschool classrooms, but, for example, they can be used in occasional classrooms such as music classes.

"We are by no means against digitalization. It would be ridiculous to deny that we live in a digital world where technology plays an important role, as do the knowledge and educational opportunities that this technology fosters," Niubó argued at the presentation of the Responsible Digitalization Plan.

And what about computers?

The mobile siege will not apply to the laptops issued to all ESO students, which also have internet access. The Ministry of Education has confirmed that laptops will continue to be provided to students starting in 6th grade "to facilitate preparation for ESO."

There will be a change in 5th grade, but it won't be next year, but rather in 2026-2027. Starting that year, each 5th grade student will no longer be given a computer, as has been the case until now. Students in this year will use laptops, but there won't be a separate one for each student to take home.

Most high schools were barely using them.

To reach the conclusion of taking these measures on digitalization in the classroom, the Government has based itself on two reports: one on the use of digital devices in educational centers and which it commissioned from Ivalua (Catalan Institute for the Evaluation of Public Policies) and another on digitalization and education, prepared by the commission created by the Government years.

In the first case, the study shows how this year there were already 40% of centers that had opted for a total ban on mobile phones (twice as many centers as the previous year). On the contrary, there is 60% of centers that had applied a partial ban, maintaining mobile phones for educational activities. minority": this year less than 40% of teachers confirm having promoted the use of mobile phones for educational purposes and, of these, the vast majority assure that they have only used it once or twice a term.

"excessive difficulties" in the centers. However, they recognize that the regulation has been "slightly more problematic" in institutes where the ban has been partially applied, as well as in the most complex centers

What impact has the regulation had so far?

The study by the Catalan Institute for the Evaluation of Public Policies also attempted to determine the impact of cell phone regulations in Catalan high schools through teacher surveys. In this regard, almost 90% of teachers report having perceived a positive effect from the ban—partial or not—on cell phones. However, Ivalua expert Núria Comas acknowledged that "it has not been possible to verify whether educational performance has improved in schools where cell phone restrictions have been greatest."

Regarding teachers' perceptions, 59% believe that cell phone regulations have led to an improvement in incidents, and half of those surveyed say it has improved student relationships and coexistence, as well as classroom attention. In contrast, only 31% have noticed an improvement in cyberbullying, and 22% believe it has impacted an increase in educational performance. On the other hand, nearly 68% of teachers and principals surveyed by Ivalua fully agree with the ban on cell phones, even for educational purposes.