The new scholastic year always begins with sharpened pencils, fresh copybooks, and familiar debates about how children learn best. One question now dominates classrooms in Malta and Gozo: should mobile phones have a place inside the classrooms? Some nations regarding this matter have already decided. France has banned them from all schools for students under fifteen. The Netherlands followed last year, forbidding phones, tablets, and smartwatches during lessons. The British government has urged schools to follow suit, claiming that bullying, distraction, and wasted time outweigh any benefits. Yet in Malta, the issue remains unresolved, drifting between the classroom and the kitchen table, with teachers pleading for clarity and parents divided on what to do.

Everyone agrees that mobile phones can be powerful tools. A science teacher in Victoria might ask a class to find out how photosynthesis works. Within seconds, students can search diagrams, videos, and experiments that make the lesson more vivid than any chalkboard ever could. A language teacher may encourage pupils to use Duolingo or online dictionaries, giving weaker students a chance to catch up at their own pace. Mathematics classes can benefit from apps like GeoGebra, while physics students can use their phones as motion sensors or stopwatches. For many parents, especially those whose children travel daily from Gozo to Malta, the phone is more than a gadget. It offers peace of mind that a child can call if a ferry runs late or if something goes wrong on the way home.

But what begins as a tool often slides into a distraction. Teachers describe a pupil sitting in class with the textbook open while their thumbs tap beneath the desk. Algebra has now become something that is presented through short-form video clips on TikTok. English essays lose out to Instagram scrolls. During lessons, teachers see heads bend, shoulders curl, and eyes dart at screens instead of the whiteboard. The act of cheating has also become less challenging. In Italy last year, exam papers circulated on WhatsApp before students had even left the classroom. Cyberbullying adds another layer of harm. In one school abroad, someone turned a photograph of a teacher into a viral meme that spread far beyond the class, so the headteacher had to ban phones outright. The device that allows a student to research Shakespeare can just as easily humiliate a classmate or undermine a teacher.

The problem lies not only in the misuse of phones but in the way they fracture attention. Notifications ping, fingers twitch, eyes flicker, and the rhythm of learning breaks. In Malta and Gozo, teachers lose valuable time at the beginning of each lesson. Students find it difficult to transition from the digital world back to the classroom. Multiply those minutes across a school day, and the cost becomes staggering. Parents complain at home that their children spend more time on screens than on books, while teachers in staff rooms mutter they are fighting a battle they cannot win alone.

Countries that have acted claim positive results. In France, teachers reported calmer classes, fewer quarrels, and more engagement. The Dutch government argued that distraction levels had reached a point where no reform could succeed without first addressing phones. Finland and Sweden, often praised for their education systems, took a softer line, allowing phones only when a teacher approves their use. Each system recognises the same reality: mobiles can help, but without rules they dominate.

Malta has so far left the matter to each school. Some private schools already collect phones in the morning and return them at dismissal. Others allow students to keep them but warn that misuse will mean confiscation. The Malta Union of Teachers has asked for a national guideline, arguing that teachers cannot face the problem alone. There continues to be a division among the parents. Some want strict bans to help children focus. Others insist phones remain necessary for safety and for peace of mind.

The dilemma lies in finding a balance. A complete ban might seem drastic, but allowing total freedom leaves classrooms vulnerable to every distraction. One middle path could mean banning phones during lessons but permitting them during breaks. Another could involve secure lockers or boxes where students deposit phones at the start of the day. Using age brackets could also prove to be helpful. Younger students could face stricter limits while older ones learn responsible use of guidance. Whatever the policy, people need clarity. Without it, schools will continue to fight the same battles, lesson after lesson, year after year.

The question is not whether phones can serve as tools-they can and they do. The question is whether their benefits outweigh the damage they cause to attention, discipline, and human connection. A child may learn how to calculate velocity from an app, but if that same app steals their focus during every other subject, what have they really gained? The issue touches on more than education. The process moulds and defines fundamental principles. Do we want children to see school as a place of concentration and respect, or as another extension of the endless scroll?

The Education Department cannot keep looking the other way. It has the duty of drawing up a clear national policy after consulting teachers, parents, students, and experts. Such a policy must give direction and ensure that all schools follow the same rules, whether state, church, or independent. At present, private schools set their own approaches, with some collecting phones each morning and others allowing more freedom. But piecemeal action only breeds confusion. A coherent national framework would protect teachers, guide parents, and give students the certainty they deserve about what belongs in the classroom and what does not.

The new school term in Malta began with clean uniforms and nervous smiles. Inside the classrooms, teachers already know that they face not only restless students but also glowing screens that demand constant attention. Other countries decided that enough was enough and acted. The time has come for Malta to do the same. Our children cannot sit for exams with a phone in their hands. They cannot learn a discipline with endless notifications interrupting every sentence. Education requires silence, focus, and respect. There is time for the use of mobile phones later, but for now, they can wait.