The United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) is urging Caribbean countries to be part of a global ban on the use of mobile phones in schools.
A new UN report is raising concerns about the excessive use of smartphones and its impacts on learning.
The UNESCO report on technology in education urges countries to carefully consider how technology is used in schools and emphasises the need for a “human-centred vision” where digital technology serves as a tool rather than taking precedence.
UNESCO’s Director of the Global Education Monitoring, Manos Antoninis, is also warning of the danger of data leaks in educational tech, as only 16 per cent of countries guarantee data privacy in the classroom, by law.
“We know that vast amounts of data are being used without the appropriate regulation, so this data ends up being used for other non-educational purposes, commercial purposes and that’s of course a violation of rights that needs to be regulated.”
The UNESCO report also highlights the disparities created by digital learning.
It noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, half a billion students worldwide were left out due to the shift to online-only tuition.
Geographically, the report noted a significant imbalance in online resources favouring Europe and North America.
UNESCO is urging countries to set their own standards for the way technology is designed and used in education such that it never replaces in-person, teacher-led instruction and supports the shared objective of quality education for all.
“The digital revolution holds immeasurable potential but, just as warnings have been voiced for how it should be regulated in society, similar attention must be paid to the way it is used in education,” warned UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.
“Its use must be for enhanced learning experiences and for the well-being of students and teachers, not to their detriment.”
The report “Techonology in education: A tool on whose terms?” was launched at an event in Uruguay hosted by UNESCO and the Ministry of Education and Culture of that country with additional support from the Ceibal Foundation and 18 ministers of education from around the world.
