Gatchalian mulls cellphone ban in class: Youth are addicted to cellphones
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is considering filing a measure that will prohibit students from elementary to senior high school from using mobile phones in classrooms during school hours.
“Isa sa mga observation, hindi lang dito sa atin ha — pati sa ibang bansa, na marami sa ating mga bata talagang nalululong na sa paggamit ng cellphone even sa loob ng classroom,” said Gatchalian in a Kapihan sa Senado forum on Thursday.
(One of the observations, not only in the Philippines but in other countries as well, is that most of our youth are now addicted to using cell phones even inside their classrooms.)
“Dapat nagbabasa sila, pero nanonood [sa] YouTube, TikTok. So pinag-aaralan ko ngayon na i-ban na — sa mga bata lang — ang paggamit ng cellphone sa loob ng classroom [within] school hours,” he said.
(They should be reading, and yet they are watching YouTube or TikTok. So, I am proposing a ban — among children only – the use of cellphones in classrooms within school hours.)
READ: Limit kids’ use of cell phones, tablets
Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate basic education panel, believes mobile phones reduce students’ reading, study and social time.
According to the senator, this is also in line with his bid to encourage more Filipinos to read and buy more books.
He said he is also set to file a bill declaring the month of November as the National Reading Month.
