Singapore schools curb phone usage to reduce distractions and rekindle interactions, but challenges remain

SINGAPORE - At the beginning of each school day, students at Queensway Secondary School have to keep their mobile phones in a “locker”. On most days, they do not have access to their phones until at least six hours later, when their last lesson ends.

The shared locker is placed at the front of the classroom, and teachers ensure that all students keep their mobile phones there until they are ready to be dismissed from school.

The school’s principal, Ms Audrey Chen Li Ying, said parents are generally supportive of the policy, which took effect in 2019. Parents are briefed on the policy when their children join the school in Secondary 1.

Said Ms Chen: “This measure helps students avoid being distracted by their phones during lessons and encourages social interaction with their peers during breaks.”

Amid mounting research showing the relationship between screen time on smartphones and mental health issues in youth, schools in Singapore have in recent years stepped up measures to curb the usage of smartphones.

Singapore is not alone. Others like France, Finland and China have already banned the use of mobile phones in schools.

In 2023, the United Nations called for a global ban on smartphones in schools arguing that they can disrupt students’ learning and affect their mental health.

Measures to deal with device usage in Singapore are expected to be released in the coming months.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, a spokesman for the Ministry of Education (MOE) said that schools here have rules and routines in place to manage students’ use of mobile phones during curriculum hours, which are appropriate for the school level.

These include dedicated mobile phone storage spaces in classes or at the general office where students deposit their phones before the start of lessons.

He added that schools may restrict the use of mobile devices to designated areas or times, like during recess, after school or at the foyer.

At Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) (Barker Road), students have to keep their devices in their personal lockers during the entire school day. If they are caught with their phones, the devices get confiscated for one month.

Madam Fong Chee Sing, 47, who has been teaching English language at ACS (Barker Road) for 20 years, said that bringing mobile phones into schools has changed the way students interact with one another.

Before, students would talk more to one another and there was a lot more play and in-person interaction, she said. Now, it is more common for them to play video and online games, and have conversations about these games with friends regularly.

The school’s head of student management, Mr Mohamad Azhar Ibrahim, 38, said that when he joined the school in 2011, the rules were stricter, as the penalty for being found with a phone during school hours was confiscation for three months.

“Parents use (the phone) all the time to get in contact with the student... They use it to monitor them. They use it to contact them. And it was getting quite difficult for us to have them go without the phone for quite some time,” he said.

Mr Azhar said that he currently has about 30 confiscated phones in his possession.

ACS (Barker Road) Secondary 2 student, Ng Jun Yi, 14, said locking up their phones helps him and his peers stay focused during lessons by minimising distractions, but he feels the rule should be relaxed during recess.

“I would like to use my phone during break times or recess, because during those times I want to relax, and I want to talk to my friends from other schools,” he said.

Some schools like Swiss Cottage Secondary do not require students to lock up their phones.

Previously, students at the school could have their phones switched on and with them during lessons. Since end-June, students have had to turn off their mobile phones during lessons, and are not permitted to use them during recess or lunch breaks.

The new rule has resulted in students paying more attention in class, said Ms Gina Hiu, 30, an English language teacher at Swiss Cottage Secondary.

In the past, students would be distracted by their phones, she said, especially if the vibration mode was switched on. “They may find the need to check notifications, even if they are not urgent.”

Putting that phone away

At Swiss Cottage Secondary in July, a group of Secondary 4 students started to stack their phones in the middle of the canteen table during recess. Their aim was to encourage one another to have face-to-face conversations instead of being tempted to look at their phones.

Mr Christopher Lim, 34, the school’s subject head of student well-being, said this sparked a trend in the school and more students have started stacking their mobile phones during recess time.

He said more of these stories need to be highlighted to show other students what their peers are doing.

Older students can be role models for the younger ones, he added, showing them how to be disciplined in their phone usage and not using their devices even during their breaks.

Previously, when students could have their phones switched on, Secondary 4 student Anand Nethra, 16, would reach for her phone often to check notifications or reply messages.

“I feel like after the policy has been implemented, fewer of us are whipping out our phones, and I don’t even take out my phone to reply notifications. It’s usually in my bag or under my table most of the time,” she said, adding that she is now less tempted to switch the phone on.

Mr Lim said the new guidelines were part of a broader review to get students to be more self-directed and aware of how they use their phones.

“It’s really important that trusted adults are present in the picture, to be able to discuss and guide them along in this process, rather than have a system where we get very quick compliance, but there are no discussions to be had,” he said.

The school also revamped its spaces to encourage more social interaction among students, in lieu of using their phones.

“So one example was how we revamped our canteen tables to be round tables, which actually had more seating capacity and facilitated more discussions and interaction among the students. And that happened organically,” said Mr Lim.

He added that there is mutual trust built over many discussions between teachers and students.

“We give them choice, rather than restricting them. We give them the chance to make the right decision, and then we are there to address it if they make poor decisions, or if they need more guidance.”

Professor Michael Chia, from the National Institute of Education’s physical education and sports science department, said schools should foster healthy habits like balancing time spent off-screen and on-screen.

“If children and adolescents are allowed to use smartphones and other devices in school, they will gravitate (towards the devices) and overuse (them). That may leave no time for anything else, especially physical activity and all forms of social activity and interaction that are of a different tempo than that of screens.”

“Children and adolescents need to better appreciate the tempo of real life, leaving time to dream, time to play, time for friends, and time to catch up with non-academic life”, the importance of which is often understated, he added.

Challenges remain

Despite the measures put in place by schools, some teachers said that students still flout the rules, for instance, by submitting “dummy” phones while continuing to use their own phones under the table.

Students can also continue to access text messages through browsers on their personal learning devices, which they use frequently during lessons.

A secondary school teacher, who declined to be named, said students in his school are required to place their mobile devices in individual mobile phone pouches at the back of the classroom before lessons start.

“Sometimes... we find out that they have placed unused mobile phones or calculator covers in the pouch instead. This makes it difficult as we have to rectify this before lessons can begin,” he said.

In primary schools where the use of smartwatches has become increasingly popular, MOE said that pupils may be required to disable smartwatch functions during lessons, by enabling the do-not-disturb or aeroplane modes.

At Park View Primary School, for instance, pupils are not allowed to use any smart devices during curriculum hours, and even during recess.

Its policy states that devices such as mobile phones and smartwatches are to be switched off and kept out of sight during all school activities. Pupils may use them only before or after school hours.

MOE said that schools’ rules and routines are shared with parents through platforms such as meet-the-parents engagement sessions and via letters.

“They (rules and routines) are meant to enable students to learn values and self-management skills, as well as be encouraged to engage in learning opportunities beyond the use of devices, such as hands-on inquiry, real-life explorations and outdoor experience,” said the MOE spokesman.

Ms Pam Chuang, 47, who works in business development, is glad for stringent phone policies in schools.

“As adults, we can be tempted to check our phones often when we receive e-mail or social media notifications, so what more for our children,” said the mother of a Secondary 1 boy and Secondary 3 girl.

She does not mind that she cannot reach her children on their mobile devices during school hours when they have to switch them off or keep them in lockers.

“During emergency situations, when I need to pick them up early from school, I will call the general office, and the school staff will relay my messages to my children,” she said.

Mother-of-two Shoba Agnetha Seetaram, 44, said that while she supports school rules that prohibit the use of smart devices during lesson time, they do not necessarily reduce exposure to screen time in school.

“In secondary school, most of the work is online or on the tablet. And in primary school it’s definitely more exciting to do work online, like on KooBits rather than on paper,” said Ms Shoba, whose daughter is in Secondary 3 and son is in Primary 4. KooBits is an online learning platform for mathematics, English and science at the primary school level.

That being said, Ms Shoba, who is an early childhood educator, will not be giving her son a phone until he is in secondary school.

She also expects her daughter to give her full access to her mobile phone when Ms Shoba asks for it.

“We definitely cannot completely ban phone usage. That will set our children back in today’s fast-paced and high-tech world. But we can definitely control it, check on it and highly supervise it,” she said.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.

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