Phone ban in schools backed

Phone ban in schools backed

ABOUT 8 of 10 Filipinos favor a proposal to ban mobile phones in schools to keep students stay focused on their studies, according to a June poll by Pulse Asia Research, Inc.

The poll commissioned by Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian showed 76% of Filipinos backed the ban, while 13% disagreed. About 11% said did not have an opinion.

Pulse Asia interviewed 1,200 adults on June 17- 24 for the poll, which had an error margin of ±3 points.

Mr. Gatchalian earlier filed Senate Bill No. 2706 or the Gadget-Free Schools bill, which tasks the Department of Education to craft guidelines on the phone ban in both private and public schools.

“Clearly, our fellow citizens support our proposal to ban the use of cellphones in schools, especially since their use in class time can be detrimental to students’ learning,” Mr. Gatchalian said in a statement in Filipino.  — John Victor D. Ordoñez