The Andhra Pradesh government has banned the use of mobile phones in classrooms.
The decision comes after the state government has found the use of cellphones by teachers inside the classroom, the reports said.
The state government has announced the decision at a meeting chaired by state Education Minister Botcha Satyanarayana earlier this month, the reports said.
In the meeting, the reports said there was a consensus among teachers, union representatives and education experts to restrict the use of mobile phones inside the classrooms as "their negative impact outweighs their utility".
Andhra government has also cited the Global Educational Monitoring Report, 2023, by UNESCO and said that even when they are not actively using their phones, students encounter difficulty in maintaining concentration when studying in close proximity to them, the reports mentioned.
"It has been seen that many teachers take mobile phones into the classrooms during teaching hours for their personal use and not for any professional requirement. This diverts teaching time in the classroom to other purposes that are unproductive for the academic improvement of children,” the official statement said.
As per the new decision, the teachers in Andhra Pradesh will be required to deposit their mobile phones, set to silent mode, with the headmaster immediately after marking their attendance.
The government also laid out the punishment for teachers if they are caught using phones in classrooms, the reports mentioned.
“For the first offence, the teacher's mobile phone will be confiscated by the headmaster or inspection officer and kept in the main office until the end of the school day. Before being allowed to take the phone, the teacher will have to give an undertaking to not repeat the offence,” NDTV reported.
The report also said: “For the second offence, the teacher's mobile phone will be confiscated and held in the main office until the end of the school day. The Mandal Education Officer (MEO) will be contacted and informed of the teacher's refusal to follow the mobile phone policy. The teacher can pick up their phones after a discussion with the MEO and after being issued a warning.”
“For third-time offenders, the phone will be confiscated and sent to the District Education Officer. The teacher will be given back the phone only after a discussion with the DEO and after the offence is recorded in their service book,” it mentioned.
