UNESCO endorses banning smartphones in schools

Subject : International Relations

Section: International Reports

Concept :

UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report 2023 warns against the uncritical adoption of digital technology in educational settings, as there is little robust evidence of its added value in education.

Recommendations:

The report endorses banning smartphones in schools when technology integration does not improve learning or worsens student well-being.
Excessive screen time has been linked to poorer well-being, less curiosity, self-control, emotional stability, and higher anxiety and depression diagnoses in children.
Advocates for data privacy laws to protect children’s information

About the Global Education Monitoring Report

The Global Education Monitoring Report is an editorially independent annual report hosted and published by UNESCO.
It has the mandate to monitor progress on education in the SDGs and on the implementation of national and international education strategies to help hold all relevant partners to account for their commitments.
Sustainable Development Goal 4
In September 2015, at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in New York, Member States formally adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The agenda contains 17 goals, one of which, SDG 4, is to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’.