The new government in New Zealand wants to ban smartphones in schools. It is hoped that this will help students concentrate and improve their reading and writing skills.
New Zealand’s conservative Prime Minister Christopher Luxon wants to ban smartphones from schools across the country. That will stop disruptive behavior and help students concentrate, Luxon said. “We will ban cell phones in schools across New Zealand. We want our children to learn and we want our teachers to teach.”
New Zealand schools once boasted of being among the best in the world in reading proficiency. But reading and writing skills have declined so much that some scientists fear a school crisis.
Anti-smoking law overturned
Luxon previously said he would ban cellphones in schools during his first 100 days in office. Such moves have been tried in the US, France and Britain – with mixed results. The prime minister’s conservative government, sworn in on Monday, has already caused controversy in its first week in power. Luxon overturned the strict anti-smoking laws praised by doctors on his first day in office.
Critics called the plan a setback for public health and a victory for the tobacco industry. “We are amazed at how you can overturn something that was so widely supported and would prevent the deaths of so many,” said Samantha Murton, president of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. “It’s a disastrous, terrible move,” said University of Otago tobacco control expert Richard Edwards.
Reverse measures taken by the previous government
Luxon outlined 49 measures in his program for the government’s first 100 days. The first new law is intended to restrict the mandate of the central bank, which in the future should concentrate solely on curbing inflation. So far, the central bank should also take the situation on the labor market into account. The new efforts also include a plan to double renewable energy production.
However, many of the measures in the plan for the first 100 days simply involve rolling back initiatives from the previous government, which was in office for six years.