Schools Without Phones | Escuelas sin celulares

By Erbol:

Cell Phones Banned in Classrooms and Promotion Ceremonies for Preschool and Primary Education

Education authorities provided the information.

With an eye toward the 2026 school year, the Ministry of Education has ordered the prohibition of cell phones in classrooms and promotion ceremonies at the Preschool and Primary levels, allowing only those at the Secondary level.

These and other measures are part of Ministerial Resolution 001, which governs the educational year.

The authority established that the use of cell phones is completely prohibited during classes, both for students and teachers, because it constitutes a source of distraction, fosters technological dependence, and may encourage situations of violence such as cyberbullying, as explained by the Vice Minister of Regular Education, Juan Carlos Pimentel.

He clarified that other technological tools are permitted, such as platforms, projectors, classroom computers, or televisions.

Resolution 001 also prohibits promotion ceremonies in Preschool Education and Community Vocational Primary Education, authorizing only the promotion ceremony for the sixth year of Secondary Education.

Pimentel noted that these practices had distorted the formative purpose of education, generating unnecessary expenses and distractions at early ages. He said it was excessive that children even have sponsors and rings at these events.

Likewise, the regulation guarantees 200 working school days, with classes starting on February 2 and ending on December 2, under a flexible framework that allows calendar adjustments according to the reality of each district.

“We have eliminated every activity that in the past meant interruptions to classes. We will not allow classes to be interrupted for celebrations, anniversaries, patron saint festivities, sports events, championships, or union activities of the teaching profession—absolutely,” the authority stated.

District education offices, in coordination with departmental education offices and health authorities, will autonomously determine the dates of the winter break, without applying a single nationwide calendar.

In addition, emphasis will be placed on promoting reading in physical format and handwriting, as part of a strategy to strengthen students’ cognitive and formative capacities.

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