The new regulations and sanctions system are an expansion of the rules announced in March by Education Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis, under which students faced expulsion for recording classmates and ridiculing them on the Internet, trying to avoid cyberbullying.
As of September 11, students in Greek schools must always carry your cell phone in your backpack during classes. The new regulations were announced after a meeting between the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and his Minister of Education, Kyriakos Pierrakakis.
“Students can bring their cell phones to school, but they must keep them inside their backpacks throughout the school day“, said Mitsotakis on Saturday in Athens when announcing the “Mobile phone in the backpack” campaign.
“The scientific data on how cell phone use during the school day affects the learning process itself is overwhelming. From distraction to other important issues. It is clear that mobile phones have no place in school during the school day.
Expulsions for non-compliance with the rules
According to the new rules, Students who fail to comply will be expelled from school for one day.. In the event of a repeat offense, teachers may expel students for several days. And anyone who records their classmates or teachers without permission may be expelled from school.
“We don’t necessarily expect 100% compliance from day one, but we do want children, their parents and educators to understand the importance of students fully focusing on the educational process at school,” Mitsotakis stated.
These standards are an extension of those announced in March by the Minister of EducationKyriakos Pierrakakis, who in an attempt to end cyberbullying, faced the expulsion of students for recording classmates and ridiculing them on the Internet.
It is the first time that in Greece a extensive system of sanctions to stop cell phone use at schoolwhich authorities have called a “major distraction.”
Previously, there was a blanket ban on mobile phones in schools dating back to 2002, but teachers found it difficult to enforce. A spokesman for the secondary school teachers union OLME stated on Greek radio that it was important to work to convince students to turn off their phones and not just threaten them with punishments.
This regulation comes a week after mobile phones were banned in 373 schools in the mainly French-speaking Belgian region of Wallonia. And also after In 2023 it will be prohibited in school classes in Spain.
