Czech Schools May Ban Mobile Phones Entirely: Researchers Warn of Unexpected Side Effects

The Czech government led by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has backed a bill that would completely ban mobile phones in nursery schools, primary schools and the lower grades of grammar schools and conservatories. The ban could take effect from September 2027 and would cover not only lessons but also breaks and after-school care groups.

Under the proposal put forward by the prime minister and Education Minister Robert Plaga (both from the ANO party), pupils would be barred from using phones, smartwatches and tablets throughout the entire school day. Bringing a device to school would still be allowed, but each school would decide for itself exactly how devices must be stored — switched off in a bag, in a locker, or under lock and key. Gadgets could only be used during lessons at a teacher's explicit instruction, with exceptions made for children with special educational needs or medical reasons.

According to the bill's authors, international experience — particularly in France and the Netherlands — points to positive effects from such bans, including improved student concentration and reduced bullying in schools. This is also supported by recommendations from the Czech National Institute of Mental Health.

It's worth noting that the new law wouldn't actually change much for many schools: since 2021, headteachers have already had the right to restrict phone use, and reportedly around half of Czech primary schools have already banned gadgets during breaks, often drawing up their own rules together with students.

The initiative has been criticised by children's ombudsman Martin Beneš, who argues that a nationwide regulation isn't necessary and that the proposal, in his view, was never actually discussed with children themselves — despite the fact that the Ministry of Education runs a dedicated youth panel for exactly this kind of consultation. The ombudsman fears that a blanket ban could sour children's attitudes toward school, which they might start seeing as a place that restricts their freedom without taking their opinions into account.

Parents themselves are divided: some support the measure, arguing that schools should take on part of the educational and disciplinary role, while others point out that a ban only addresses a fraction of a much deeper problem.

Researchers at Masaryk University in Brno analysed data from 21 countries, including Czechia, and concluded that banning phones in classrooms is not a one-size-fits-all solution. According to Libor Juhaňák, one of the study's authors, students genuinely do get distracted less during lessons, but that alone doesn't guarantee better academic results. The ban also showed no significant impact on cyberbullying or children's overall psychological wellbeing.

Even more strikingly, the study revealed an unexpected effect: in schools that introduced a ban, anxiety levels in classrooms actually rose, and students began disrupting lessons more often — the exact opposite of what the Czech government was hoping for. Similar findings emerged from the UK's Smart Schools study: after a strict ban was introduced, children simply started using their phones more outside school, meaning negative effects such as cyberbullying were merely shifted beyond the school gates rather than eliminated.

That said, the researcher stresses that these findings don't mean a ban is pointless — it's simply too blunt a tool for such a complex problem. In his view, schools need to work in parallel on improving relationships among students, engaging with parents, and building children's digital literacy.

The researcher also sketched out a hypothetical scenario: if a phone ban were combined with a ban on social media for the same age group — a topic already being debated in Czechia — it could produce a generation of children who are completely unprepared for the digital world and more vulnerable to developing addictions later in adulthood.

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Source: seznamzpravy.cz