New laws curbing the use of mobile phones in Finnish schools came into force on Aug 1, ahead of their reopening after the summer holidays.
The Nordic country, long known for its high-quality education, has seen its rating fall in an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) ranking that measures the competence of 15-year-olds in mathematics, literacy and natural sciences.
An amendment to the Finnish Basic Education Act, which bans the use of mobile phones by students aged from seven to 16 while classes are on, was passed in April 2025.
Now, phones and other mobile devices can be used in class only with the teacher’s permission for learning purposes, as an aid or for health reasons.
Finnish public broadcaster Yle reported that a school in the eastern town of Varkaus will require its estimated 700-odd pupils to keep their phones in their bags or in lockers throughout the day, including recess.
In the western Finnish city of Tampere, students can use phones during breaks but only outside the school building.
The Finnish National Agency for Education has called for stricter rules than set out in the law, recommending that mobile devices be banned during meal time and that their use is restricted during breaks.
In the latest round of the OECD assessment for 2022, 41 per cent of Finnish students said the use of digital resources distracted them in all or most mathematics lessons, a figure markedly higher than the OECD average of 31 per cent. AFP
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