UNESCO endorses banning smartphones in schools

Source: The post is based on the article “UNESCO endorses banning smartphones in schools”  published in The Hindu on 27th July 2023

What is the News?

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has released its Global Education Monitoring Report,2023 titled “Technology in education: a tool on whose terms?”.

What are the key highlights from the Global Education Monitoring Report,2023?

The report has endorsed the ban on smartphones in schools and has warned against an uncritical rush toward embrace of digital products in educational settings. This is because:

Firstly, there is little robust evidence on digital technology’s added value in education. It cited the example of how Pearson funded its own studies, contesting independent analysis that showed its digital products had no impact on education.

Secondly, technology integration does not improve learning. It highlighted that mere proximity to a mobile device was found to distract students and have a negative impact on learning in 14 countries. But still only one in four countries have banned smartphone use in schools.

Thirdly, the report cited a study of young people between the ages of two and 17 which showed that higher screen time was associated with poorer well-being; less curiosity, self-control and emotional stability; higher anxiety and depression diagnoses.

Fourthly, the report has flagged the higher costs of delivering basic education where there is a dependence on the setting up of digital infrastructure and how this could worsen the problem of unequal access in low-income countries.

– For instance, the cost of moving to basic digital learning in low-income countries and connecting all schools to the Internet in lower-middle-income countries would add 50% to their current financing gap for achieving national SDG 4 targets.

Lastly, another major concern around the indiscriminate use of digital technology in education was children’s privacy. Children’s data are being exposed yet only 16% of countries explicitly guarantee data privacy in education by law.

– One analysis found that 89% of 163 education technology products recommended during the pandemic could survey children.