Sir, – A blanket smartphone ban in schools is unworkable without addressing the core issue: the Department of Education has embedded technology into the Junior Cycle curriculum but has failed to provide sufficient resources for all students to access necessary devices. The use of digital technology is required for essential skills like managing information and communicating, yet most schools rely on students purchasing their own devices, placing a significant financial burden on families. Some pay upwards of €300 or more, but many students still lack adequate access to devices.
The department’s solution of phone pouches to store smartphones away during the school day, while simultaneously requiring phones for classwork, mirrors Schrödinger’s cat: the phone is both banned and required, existing in a paradoxical state. Students must bring their phones for educational purposes but are expected to keep them inaccessible during class, creating confusion and undermining the effectiveness of the policy.
Schools are not equally equipped to support the digital needs of students, and there is no centralised procurement process to ensure fair and affordable access. Instead, schools have been left to implement varying policies, including the expensive “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) approach, which risks increasing inequality among students and imposes additional costs on families. Until the department provides the necessary funding and centralised support for every student to access a digital device, enforcing smartphone bans will only add to the growing challenges schools face in integrating technology effectively into education. – Yours, etc,
ANN MARCUS-QUINN,
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Castletroy,
Limerick.
Sir, – The Minister for Education talks of €9 million on phone pouches in the context of the overall department’s spending. As my granny would have said, “Mind the millions and the billions will look after themselves.” – Yours, etc,
DAVID CURRAN,
Knocknacarra,
Galway.
Sir, – Maybe the scheme should be expanded to every library, cinema and theatre and courthouse in the country? – Yours, etc,
MIKE MORAN,
Dublin 3.
Sir, – People who expect students to comply with instructions such as to keep their phone in their locker or bag and not to take them out clearly have no idea of the reality inside a typical Irish school. – Yours, etc,
JOHN DOYLE,
Enniskeane,
Cork.