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The Daily PollTHE GOVERNMENT announced yesterday that every secondary school in the country will receive supports to become “smartphone-free” during the school day.
A total of €9 million has been allocated for schools to purchase equipment to store student’ phones – such as lockable phone pouches, electronic lockers or other storage solutions that will prevent students using their phones.
The phone pouches are magnetically sealed and only the teacher is able to unlock them and give students back their phones at the end of the day.
However, there has been some criticism that students will be able to easily evade the measure, either through providing a decoy phone or by prying the pouch open.
Teachers and parents have also criticised the decision, saying the money could have been targeted to other areas.
So today we’re asking: Should the government pay for lockable phone pouches in schools?
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No .Leave the phones at home full stop.Spend the money on education on the dangers of social media.
@Willie Marty: good luck trying to tell teenagers to do anything they don’t want to with their phone. Easier to tell a junk-y to get off heroin..
@Willie Marty: you also leave your phone at home when you go to work.
Not the schools responsibility to control phone usage. Parents need to step up and take responsibility too
@Sinead Merrigan: It is in part the responsibility of teachers and the school if they’re not allowed to use them in the school. Just like it’s the pubs responsibility to clear out under 18s from their floor after a certain time. If rules apply to your place of work then they have a responsibility to enforce it along with the individual and parent!
@Sinead Merrigan: parents can’t parent at school
If the parent wants to let the child go to school with a phone the parent should provide a pouch (meeting whatever standards are required) to the school. They’ve spent €200 -> €1000 on the device. The extra €9 won’t kill them.
If they don’t want to send in a pouch then the phone is not allowed in the school.
I’m a parent too. If I was sending my child in with a phone I’d have no problem doing this.
Our kids leave them in their lockers. If they are caught with them the school confiscates them and parents have to come in and collect the phone. Works fine for me, no cost and our kids have their phones in case of emergency and for after school collections etc. Why do we need to reinvent the wheel on this?
Just take phones off kids if they’re caught using them in schools. Hold onto the phone and only return it to the kid’s parent. If the parents are directly inconvenienced enough by their kids behavior, they’re more likely to get involved in rectifying the behaviour
Signal blockers in classrooms would be more effective imo
@Ronan Meagle: I’d say that would cost more than €9m to signal block every classroom in the state.
@Michael O’Neill: not if they just wrapped the devices in tin-foil.
@Ronan Meagle: unfortunately some medical conditions like monitoring diabetes/heart conditions require a phone these days. But maybe exceptions could be made, as long as he/she doesn’t rent out their privileged phone at €5/15 min.
@Ronan Meagle: unfortunately some medical conditions like monitoring diabetes or heart condition require a phone these days. But maybe exceptions could be made, as long as he/she doesn’t rent out their privileged phone at €5/15 min.
@Ronan Meagle: what will teachers do then can’t use lap tops and kids with special needs have laptops and electric devices
Most schools already have a no phone policy. They are to be switched off and left in bags/lockers.
Our school will confiscate a phone if seen and parent must collect from office
If we actually want kids to not have their phones in class, it will be necessary to give them a safe place to store them during school. They ARE going to carry them to school. They ARE going to resist not being able to use them during school.
They’re going to chance their arms. Making it as easy and safe as possible is how to get their cooperation.
@Todd Hebert: Plus they might actually need a phone at some stage
@Ollie McGlinchey: Why? Never had a phone during my school days, never needed one, what has changed now? They don’t.
@Alex: Didn’t know any kids either with mental health problems. Just a few that hated school if that could be called a mental problem.
@Alex: we didn’t even have a payphone in the school..
@Todd Hebert: I absolutely agree. But only after the DES gives schools enough money to keep the lights on, provides enough school places for children and caters properly to children who need to access valuable services.
@Alex: some kids dyslexic and other .memory learning difficulties use their phone to record their home work . As in voice reminders
The question was wrong. Should the government pay….. change to should the taxpayer pay…. After all it is the taxpayers who will pay
The biggest problem for parents is the only way to contact their teens after school is with a mobile. We survived without phones because we all had access to payphones. You carried coins in your purse or a call card and if you needed your parents after school for example you missed your lift you joined the payphone queue and rang home. The world is built now around everyone being constantly accessible and expecting teenagers to just leave their phones at home is missing the realities of modern life.
Was this the only increase in the budget for education?…..phone pouches, huh….figures.
@Dere: School book scheme extended to Leaving Cert.
No use the 9 million to support kids with special needs
@John Mcmahon: 10000%
30 odd numbered fabric pouches on a big piece of fabric to hold the phones by the door of each classroom, put your phone in as you enter take it as you leave in each class, simples!
@Chutes: We don’t need to waste millions on every stoopid idea!
A plastic box maybe ?
No phone s should be allowed
@martin finnegan: it’s the same at work
No the parents should pay! God knows they got double child benefit take it from that.
The type of pouches pictured here can be opened with/by:
A strong magnet
A pen
Hitting it off a desk….
Let’s not spend €9 million on that….
Let’s make the government actually hold big tech responsible
It would be far easier to place a signal jammer in corridors of schools, the teachers would not then need to confront pupils who do not put their phones away.
I’ve no problem paying for it prefer my kids have the phone, obliviously not during school time
Surely this only applies to kids doing jnr cert and above (15+ yr olds)? Why would (other than special circumstances then maybe a burner/nokia) kids need phones? What folks give their under 14s a phone? That’d be asking for trouble.
@wwvCLOuF: look, I find it wrong kids having smartphones in any case but can’t schools have ban policy instead of govt issuing a monetary waste idea? Its like there’s a phone pouch company owner that’s gotten cosy with a td.
Parental responsibility. As a parent don’t allow your child to bring a phone to school. My teenager got a phone in first year and I do not allow him to bring to school. My 6th class child does not have a phone and will get one in the summer before secondary school same as her brother did. I have found that it is parents who are more uncomfortable when they hear that my child does not have a phone and make stupid excuses and then say the government should ban them in schools. It is the job of a parent to parent their child, and monitor their use of it. Schools job is to give an education
I’m sorry but do anyone think that these phones are going to be handed up voluntarily. Not on your Nellie. They certainly would not be getting my phone
If kids want to bring phones to school then let the parents buy them. Or leave them at home, The phones.
Screw the government…not my best work but I stand by it!
There are just over 400,000 kids in secondary school. That’s a maximum of 400, 000 phones. How on earth could that cost 9 million euro? Bet it ends up costing about 12 million.
Good maker for ‘burners’ so
My daughter has one of these pouches, the policy in the school was in ur bag or in your locker on airplane mode. Seemed there was a problem in the school following these instructions. All parents had to purchase the pouches at 30 quid each.
Save Lebanese children from israeli terrorists
@Tommy445: by giving them phone pouches?
9 million who’s related to someone in government ,,that’s going to get the contract to supply them probably end up being 100m
Parents should
They should be taught not to use them for bullying as some kids end up taking their lives because of fone bullying
More waste from the government, make it a rule and have punishments in place if they’re caught, it’s not rocket science. The fact they think this budget was a people pleasing one shows how much they’re out of touch with the general public.
The government should get the pouches from China; they should have bought polycarbonate bike sheds for all the schools in Ireland, which only cost $60.00 USA each, which would accommodate 20 bikes standing or 30 hanging. with free shipping
Just make the schools a giant faraday cage, what could go wrong?
Surprised there are not more posting yes. Installed in NI so SF must be ok with them
A large lockable box beside the teacher
Safer walking home with phone.
Get them off wish for 10th of the price
Just turn off the wi fi. Get back to actually teaching.
Marian Harkin nailed it in one with Education, the free books & school meals are very welcome but only fluff disguising the real issues, like the highest teacher pupil ratios in the EU, inadequate Capitation grants that mean parents & teachers have to fundraise locally to keep schools operating, short term contracts of employment for young teachers, hundreds of schools operating out of inadequate prefabricated structures, school buses fiasco year on year now, but Norma trumps it all again with €9 Million for pouches for phones, that will be made redundant when done parent takes a case to the High Court. Invest in the bread & butter issues, not the fluff
Like a teacher has the time to do that . It’s just nonsense . If a student is caught. With phone in school they get phone taken from them untill end of day and a detention Repeat offenders gets suspended simple
For gods sake stop this b/s, Jayson wept.
@Ned: a we mis spell there I say
NO
Leave the mobile phone at home.
Don’t allow into the school
Simple
Dam right they should it’s there idea so uea they should pay for it
Some of this comments are stone age stuff.
Kids are going to bring phones end off least schools/goverment are trying there best to combine them . Fair play to them for helping schools out as most of them are struggling
If you’re interested in the topic, you won’t need the phone for 45 minutes.
have your say