TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Students held a sit-in protest in front of the Ministry of Education Saturday against the government plan to restrict the use of phones during class.
While the policy is scheduled to take effect from the next school year, the ministry said it would hold a public hearing on June 1. Officials emphasized the proposal was still at the draft stage, and it welcomed dialogue with students and other interested parties, per CNA.
The ministry’s new guidelines published online said mobile devices brought by students should be collected and managed per school or class during lessons at elementary and junior high schools. Senior high schools can determine their procedures.
The protesters said the ministry should withdraw its plan as it offered no solution for the problem of addiction to mobile phones. They said using phones was a way of escaping the most important source of pressure in a student’s life, the pressure caused by exams.
The protesters accused the ministry of not having consulted students on a large scale, and of not having conducted any opinion surveys.
The Ministry of Education responded that it intended to guarantee the appropriate usage of digital devices for each age group at school. Students pointed out that phones and pads could provide information helping with learning, and should not be banned outright.
