After France, that recently announced the ban of mobile phone use in all nursery, primary and middle schools as of September, now Greek Education Minister Kostas Gavroglou announced the ban of mobile phones and the ban of security cameras, during school hours in primary and secondary schools across Greece.
According to a circular issued by the Education Minister on June 22nd the ban is expected to be implemented at the beginning of the Greek school year in September. Teachers will have to use electronic devices only for teaching purposes and students will not be able to use their mobile phones, tablets or other electronic devices during school hours.
Furthermore, the use of private mobile phones by teachers is conditional and only for teaching purposes and teachers will only be using devices provided by the school they work for. The use of security cameras in schools is forbidden as well as the posting of videos that include images of students.
As stated in the circular, the storage, processing and posting of any type of digital media such as photos and videos from school life will only be allowed with the consent of the students’ parents or assigned guardians. Posting of students’ images on schools websites are also to be avoided.
According to the circular dated June 22nd 2018, the whole issue has to do with “privacy an data” protection and internet safety in schools.
So far, no reactions have been reported from school personnel and parents associations
Australia: Review of smartphone use in NSW schools
This announcement comes as NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes last week, ordered a review of the use of smartphones in schools following concerns from parents.
"While smartphones connect us to the world in ways never imagined just a decade ago, they raise issues that previous generations have not had to deal with," Mr Stokes said in a statement.
