No ban, no boundaries: Smartphones surge in classrooms as India lags behind on policy

“Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is most important.”

– Bill Gates

The world is evolving, and so are the students. With the growing trend of smartphone use among students, nations across the globe are rapidly adopting policies to control their use in classrooms.

These regulations are primarily based on issues concerning classroom distraction, exposure to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and data privacy.

In the midst of this worldwide transition, India, as of 2024, lacks a unified policy or law that addresses the use of smartphones in schools. Though certain individual states and institutions have adopted their own rules, there is no national framework.

This differs from education systems globally that have implemented various degrees of restrictions or complete bans on the use of student mobile phones in schools.

Experts in India are raising their concerns while offering constructive alternatives. Professor Sandeep Kumar, Department of Education of the University of Delhi, advocates for a reimagined integration of technology in schools.

“Well, technology must be understood in a broader sense, as it is nearly impossible to envision the future without it — India being no exception. The key lies in educating people, especially school-going children, about responsible mobile phone usage. Too often, we adopt trends from the Western world in the name of modernization without truly understanding the purpose and mindful integration of technology,” Prof Kumar said.

“The state should step in to design specialized smart devices tailored for education — perhaps stripped of unnecessary features like cameras — to better align with the school environment,” he added.

As reported by UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring (GEM) team, 79 school education systems, which account for 40% of all registered systems globally, had already implemented bans on smartphones in schools by the end of 2024.

This is up from 60 systems during 2023, with 19 more joining in 2024. Such bans vary from full national bans to state-level restrictions.

In the United States, for example, 20 of the 50 states have passed policies, such as California's Phone-Free School Act and Florida's statewide classroom ban. Australia's New South Wales and South Australia, and 14 of Spain's 17 autonomous communities, have taken similar routes.

In countries like Turkmenistan and Israel, bans focus on primary and secondary levels. Meanwhile, nations such as Denmark and France have banned tools like Google Workspace in classrooms, and several German states have restricted Microsoft products over data privacy concerns.

Zhengzhou, a Chinese city, mandates parents to officially declare whether students require phones in school, and France has implemented digital breaks and extended restrictions to lower secondary levels.

India's response is still decentralized. State governments and schools act independently in the absence of national guidance.

Nevertheless, the increasing misuse of smartphones and an upsurge in cybercrime—averaging 7,000 complaints per day in 2024, a 113.7% rise compared to past years—have raised serious public alarm.

One incident that stirred debate occurred in May 2024 at Delhi Public School, Bangalore North, where three students circulated an AI-generated nude image of two ninth-grade girls via an unofficial Instagram group.

Two minors and one adult were detained under cybercrime laws. The case highlighted the darker side of student smartphone use and intensified calls for reform.

“Instead of outrightly banning smartphones, I think a more effective approach would be to replace them with education-centric devices that enhance learning while minimizing distractions. Implementing a well-structured policy in this regard can significantly improve the current education system in Indian schools, ensuring technology serves as a tool for empowerment rather than a source of disruption,” Kumar said.

Professor Kumar also warned about the cognitive risks associated with prolonged screen time:

“There is no doubt that it impacts our thinking and memory. It likely affects ‘priming,’ a cognitive ability that helps us retrieve stored information.”

“Global research indicates that overuse of screens harms children's mental and physical health, hindering their social development and reducing opportunities for interaction, leading to isolation. A simple experiment with children nearby can demonstrate its impact on memory and recall. This isolation, in turn, can contribute to severe mental health issues,” he added.

“In a collective society like India, ‘social technology’ is more essential than a purely digital approach. Therefore, judicious use, strategic implementation, and proper awareness can help balance ‘Education and Technology.’ Abrupt adoption, however, risks creating barriers in children's minds, disrupting educational contexts, and straining the social fabric — potentially leading to an unsolvable crisis.”

Findings from the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report of 2023 are in tune with these notions. Research that spanned 14 countries indicates that the mere presence of smartphones in classrooms can be an important source of distraction for the students.

A study revealed that it may take around 20 minutes for the pupils to become concentrated on their studies after a break. In places such as Belgium, Spain, and the UK, bans were a cause of better marks in the educational sector, mainly among the students who were underperforming.

Even though ICT tools are useful in enhancing the learning performance of the individuals in subjects such as mathematics, reading, and science, spending too much time on the screen will have the opposite effect.

Experiments that were carried out as part of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) verified the statement that this was the scenario irrespective of the financial status.

The safety of student data is likewise being called into question. The situation has not improved much from 2010 until now, and in 2023, only 16% of the countries had laws that shielded student data in the school environment.

Research conducted amidst the COVID-19 crisis made the situation even more worrisome by pointing out that 89% of the 163 educational apps were embracing the idea and the government was in the driver's seat for promoting 39 out of the 42 online learning platforms, which seemed to have endangered the children's digital rights.

Echoing similar sentiments to Kumar, Dr Maithili Tambe, CEO of The Academy School (TAS), Pune, emphasized the need for balanced regulation, saying, “Smartphones can facilitate easy access to information, yet they also expose students to a world of distractions, such as social media, games, and notifications, which can divert attention away from lessons and hinder focus. With the growing emphasis on digital literacy, it is vital to create an environment where face-to-face interaction and critical thinking are prioritized.”

In India, the judiciary has replied. On Feb 28, 2024, the Delhi High Court declared that a complete prohibition of smartphones in schools was "unacceptable and not feasible." Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani acknowledged the importance of technology in education but stressed the need for controlled usage.

The court’s directions to the students were that they had to submit the phones during school hours and disallowed their use in classes, vehicles, and shared spaces.

The schools were recommended to inform the students about online etiquette and the psychological effect of screen time and to use the phones only for safety and educational purposes. The decision was sent to CBSE, the Directorate of Education, and other important authorities for their consideration.

Similarly, several steps have been taken, such as the launch of the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, to stop digital crimes against children, but the issue of a national smartphone policy for schools is not resolved.

“Educational policies should be enforced to limit smartphone use during school hours, promoting engagement and collaboration among students. By implementing such boundaries, teachers can create a more disciplined approach to learning, encouraging students to develop interpersonal skills and reducing the likelihood of cyberbullying and anxiety related to social media pressures,” Tambe said.

According to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024, which was conducted by interviewing over 600,000 rural Indian children, the percentage of content created and consumed digitally by children is growing.

The survey suggested that about 82.2% of kids (ages 14-16 years) were capable of handling smartphones. Therefore, around 57% used their devices for educational purposes, and 76% were the social networking community.

Despite the fact that there were regional and gender-related differences, the findings revealed high digital access with an upward trend. When 90% of girls and boys from all the states in India said they have a smartphone at home, the usage ratio was not the same: 85.5 % of the boys vs. 79.4% of the girls.

Boys aged between 14 and 14–16 had higher percentages of owning, 36.2%, than did girls, 26.9%. The research also took account of Southern states such as Kerala, where girls had better digital skills than in other parts of the country, e.g., Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, where it was not high with the ratio of girl participation.

In Kerala, more than 80% of the adolescents resorted to the usage of smartphones for academic purposes, while the number increased to over 90% for social media.

One of the essential additions that ASER 2024 accompanied was an introduction to a new digital literacy framework that checked skills like information retrieval and app usage.

The survey confirmed the direct correlation between smartphone usage and a person's age—among 14-year-olds, only 27% owned smartphones, whereas 16-year-olds were 37.8%—indicating that these devices are increasingly gaining prominence in students’ daily lives.

As smartphone access among students grows, global education systems are adapting through varied regulations to address concerns like distraction, cyber safety, and digital well-being.

India, despite widespread usage, still lacks a unified national policy, leading to fragmented responses. Research highlights both the potential and the risks of smartphone use in schools.

A balanced, well-informed approach rooted in data and awareness is essential to align education with evolving digital realities.