As of January 1^st, 2024, the Rijksoverheid (The Central government in the Netherlands) announced that Mobile phones and tablets or smartwatches may no longer be used in the classroom in 2024. 

The use of mobile phones is not allowed in the classroom.

According to the Central government of The Netherlands (Rijksoverheid):

• As of January 1, 2024, the use of mobile phones is no longer allowed in secondary schools.
• From the new school year (2024-2025), the use of mobile phones will no longer be permitted in primary schools and special (primary) education.
• Schools must make agreements with teachers, students, and their parents about how this will look exactly at their school. Schools can use the ‘School policy for smartphones’ guideline from Kennisnet. The Kennisnet website also has a step-by-step plan for a clear smartphone policy . The VO-raad also supports schools with smartphone policy.

“First of all, I think it’s a very good decision. I think this decision should have been taken much earlier,”.  Said René Klaassen, a teacher and a mentor with over 23 years of experience at Dongemond College, expressed strong support for the ban. Pointing out that phones have become a significant source of distraction, affecting students’ ability to focus. He expressed that students receive “too much information” and struggle to manage it during school hours. Since the implementation of the ban, Klaassen has already observed positive changes, noting, “Pupils are more concentrated on the lessons and the content of the lessons”.

However, not everyone is happy with the policy. One student described it as “nonsense,” as he said that students were already required to put their phones in phone bags (telefoon-zak). “I just don’t get it,” the student added, expressing frustration with what he sees as an unnecessary use of existing rules.​ Another student admitted the reasons behind the ban but was still skeptical of how effective the schools were at enforcing the policy, and said, “There is still a lot of students who hide their phones and use it in the break and during class, and some teachers don’t even care or know”.

Despite this, the ban appears to be making a more socially engaging school environment in all aspects. Good and bad, students have started interacting with one another more but he also mentioned the rise of bullying at the school itself instead of online bullying through social media which was the most interesting po

int which is the resurface of bullying on school instead of online bullying. although some have turned to using Chromebooks during breaks. “Now they use their Chromebook during the break. Some people who used to hide behind their phones now hide behind their laptop,” said Klassen.

Nevertheless, enforcing the ban has been a challenging task. Klaassen stressed that for the policy to work, “all teachers have to implement this rule together.” He pointed out that uncooperative behaviour would hinder the initiative, saying, “If there are two teachers or colleagues who don’t care, then we have a problem”.

In conclusion, the phone ban in Dutch schools has led to some improvements such as improved concentration with the students, reduced incidents of cyberbullying and more social engagement, the ban is still in the very early stages of it’s infancy so it is difficult to measure results but taking what Klassen and a number of other mentors said ““If we continue like this, the results will be positive,” the coming period will be important in determining the full impact of the policy.