Italy to ban mobile phones also for school seniors

Mobile phones will in future also be banned during lessons in the senior classes in Italy's schools, the Ministry of Education said on Monday.

A corresponding decree will come into force after the summer holidays with the new school year.

Previously, the use of mobile phones was generally prohibited up to the age of around 15.

Exceptions are possible - for example for pupils who are dependent on their mobile phones due to a disability.

The new decree was published by Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara, who belongs to the far-right League party. The ban on mobile phones is intended to make lessons quieter again, he said.

Valditara cited studies showing that excessive or incorrect use of mobile phones can have negative effects on health, well-being and performance.

Mobile phones are now to be locked away in their own compartments before the start of lessons.

In principle, there has been a ban on mobile phones in Italian schools for years, but this has been relaxed in the meantime and is not always enforced.

Stricter controls over the use of mobile devices in schools is a recurring topic of discussion in many other countries in Europe.

Italy's Ministry of Education has officially been called the Ministry of Education and Merit since the right-wing coalition of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took office in 2022.

The name change is intended to emphasize the idea of achievement more strongly.