The Government says it’s unlikely cell phones will be given the boot from schools anytime soon after a wave of bans across the ditch.
New South Wales is the latest Australian state to bring in strict rules, meaning students will no longer be allowed their phones in the classroom or the playground.
Come October, all public schools in the state will become mobile-free.
The new rule affects over 400 schools, with an estimated 320,000 students to be caught up in the ban.
They’re already banned in primary schools, and now high schools will follow suit.
Brought in by the new State Premier, Chris Minns, the rules aim to curb distractions for students and improve learning outcomes.
"We get to learn more about other people around our community and us and not just on our phones the whole time," he said.
When the ban comes into force later this year, it'll be up to individual primary and high schools to decide how it’s enforced.
It doesn't have to be anything fancy - phones can simply be locked away in lockers or zipped into schoolbags.
Some New Zealand schools, like Hollmorton in Christchurch, have taken similar steps.
"The immediate effect in classrooms was huge in that students weren't distracted at all; they were concentrating on their devices, on their lessons. Not on their phones," principal Ann Brokenshire told 1News.
However, Education Minister Jan Tinetti says she won’t consider a nationwide ban.
"As someone who was a teacher... No," she said.
She thinks they’re a useful tool and said it should be up to individual schools to impose bans.
"You've got something that could potentially be the best form of technology that sits in a kid's pocket.
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