Education Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin has reiterated that smartphones will continue to be banned in schools so as to curb gaming and digital devices addictions among students. This is despite the prevalence of these devices in primary and secondary students’ lives due to the Covid-19 necessitating online learning.
In fact, Radzi said that such a ban is actually more important now to ensure that students won’t use these devices for too long of a period, which will allegedly cause addiction. Speaking in Parliament, the Education Minister said that the ban of digital devices such as smartphones in schools among students have been enforced by his ministry since 2009.
Furthermore, Radzi further clarified that a 2018 circular from the Education Ministry has already set the guidelines on the usage of digital devices for learning purposes in schools. The ministry has also been continuously conducting interventions on students’ behaviour, especially in regards to gaming and smartphone addictions.
These interventions include counselling, leadership courses, sports, arts programmes and more. Radzi also called upon parents to monitor and limit their children’s usage of smartphones.
The Education Minister further stressed that his ministry views seriously gaming and smartphone addictions and their adverse mental effects on students below 18 years old. Radzi was quoted of saying all the above during a reply to a question by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sibuti, Lukanisman Awang Sauni in the Dewan Rakyat recently.
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