Australia to limit screen time in New South Wales public schools
In Australia, students at public schools in the state of New South Wales will have their daily use of digital devices in classrooms limited. For students from kindergarten to Year 2, the limit will be 15 minutes per day, ABC News Australia reports.
Limits for different grades
Students in Years 3–4 will be able to use screens in the classroom for up to 30 minutes daily, while the limit for Years 5–6 will be 45 minutes. The new guidelines will begin to be introduced next year and will become mandatory from 2028.
Rules will be less strict for high school students. In Years 7–10, digital learning may account for up to 25% of subject coursework. Students in Years 11–12 will be able to use laptops and tablets for half of class time.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Return to written work
State Education Minister Prue Car said that schools should return to basic approaches, including using pens and paper. According to her, screen time should not be the standard format of learning at school.
The state government explained the decision by its aim to halt the trend of declining academic results. Prue Car cited data from the international PISA study: Australian students are almost twice as likely as the average across Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries to spend more than two hours a day learning with digital devices.
Education Department Secretary Murat Dizdar stressed that technology will continue to play an important role in classrooms, but the restrictions will help students focus better and avoid distractions. At Chatswood High School, after digital-device use was reduced, school staff noticed improvements in students' handwriting and engagement, according to principal Robin Chand.
