Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, has formally filed Senate Bill 2706 or the Electronic Gadget-Free Schools Act.
It aims to ban the use of smartphones and other gadgets during class hours from students in kindergarten to senior high school for both public and private institutions.
Gatchalian cites the studies conducted in other countries that prove that excessive use of mobile devices has negative effects on a student’s learning performance.
According to Gatchalian, the study showed that using gadgets while studying affects a learner’s performance directly as it is “correlated with a greater negative impact on grades and scores.” It then indirectly affects a learner’s performance because the “learners’ skills and cognitive abilities needed for academic success are also negatively affected by excessive phone use.”
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Gatchalian also cited findings of the Programme for International Student Assessment 2022 (PISA). It shows that 8 in every 10 Filipino learners aged 15 years old claim that they got distracted in class while using their phones, while 8 in every 10 students say that they get distracted when their classmates are using their smartphones.
“Further analysis revealed that distraction due to smartphone use during class is correlated with a decrease in performance of about 9.3 points in mathematics, 12.2 points in science, and 15.04 points in reading,” the senator added.
Gatchalian also pointed out that having access to such devices makes them prone to cyberbullying.
Those are the reasons why the new bill seeks to restrict the use of electronic gadgets during class hours to help students balance their use of technology and promote learning.
The said ban will also include teachers and faculty during designated teaching hours.
Exemptions include health and well-being-related exceptions, learning-related exceptions, and managing risks exceptions.
“Learners shall likewise be subject to appropriate sanctions provided in the school policies,” Gatchalian added.