No more cellphones in Manitoba francophone schools, division says

Students attached to their cellphones who attend schools in theDivisionScolaire Franco-Manitobainewill face a new realitynext month.

A new division policy coming into effect in October bans cellphones in class after administrators decided the devices,visible on desks or ringing or vibrating, were disruptive.

"The phone was becoming more of a distraction than a tool," Alain Laberge, division superintendent, toldInformation Radiohost Marcy Markusa on Thursday morning.

The policy applies differently to two groups. For Kindergarten to Grade 8 students, they aren't allowed to bring phones into the school.

For high school students, they aren't allowed to have cellphones or earbuds in the classroom, but they are permitted to use them during lunch breaks and spare periods, said Laberge.

The policy kicks in the first week of October but was presented in May to administrators, teachers, staff, union representatives and a group of students.

Some students, including Phigenie UwayofromCollge Louis-Riel, were against the idea.

"It's really easy to get distracted by your phone, but I don't think it's fair that everybody has to get punished for it," she told CBC on Thursday.

Uwayosaidit should be up to students to decide whether they let their phones distract them.

Joshua Musinguzi, a Grade 12 student at the same school, agreed that phones can be distracting, but said he's trying his best to put his phone away during class.

"Taking it away isn't going to make it any better.It's just going to agitate me," he said.

Labergesaidthe policy came about after feedback from schools, teachers, principals, parents and even some students who suggested during focus groups that phones aren't necessarily critical tools to have in school.

"High school students told us, well, I am on call for work in the afternoon, I need to be near my phone," said Laberge. "We realized that during a class it's not the right time to use your phone, but if we all agree on using it in between periods and at lunch time, most of them were OK with it."

StudentMaya Vrignon fromCollge Louis-Riel said she didn't mind the new policy, and she doesn't tend to use her phone during class anyway.

"Excessive phone usage during class obviously isn't good, because if you're not listening, you're not going to understand," she told CBC.

Students 'should be focused on classes': parent

Since the pandemic,all schools in the division now have laptops and tablets that are used for learning, Laberge said, rendering any argument for the presence of phones foreducational purposes moot.

There's also been "more and more" reports of students being harassed or bullied on their phones,Laberge said, and that too was a consideration.

Some teachers took it upon themselves previously to institute no-phone rules. That created a patchwork of policies that was "becoming a bit hard to deal with."

WATCH | Should cellphones be banned fromschools?

Should cellphones be banned from schools?

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Some experts say classroom cellphone bans will improve learning and reduce bullying, but others say they are still a useful tool for student safety.

Laberge said administrators wanted to have the same rule everywhere.

"A lot of parents phoned me and said, 'Thank you.My daughter, my son is asking for a phone because his friends have one and we don't think it's a good idea.' "

Salimata Soro, whose child is a Grade 11 student atCollge Louis-Riel, said she supports the new rule.

"Kids should be focused on classes when they are at school," Soro said.

If some students continue to bring phones to school, staff will ask the student to put the deviceaway. If it continues, staff may take the cellphone away for a time.

The division will review how things went after one year to determine whether to keep the policy in place.