Kolkata: School heads and academics across the state have strongly backed chief minister Suvendu Adhikari’s Teachers’ Day address on reducing screen time, expressing hope that clear guidelines restricting mobile usage among students will soon be issued.Most school heads who spoke to TOI on Sunday highlighted that it has become increasingly difficult to retain the attention of students, especially adolescents.Raja Dey, headmaster of Bhawanipur Mitra Institution—the recipient of this year’s Vidyasagar Sera Vidyalaya Award—said, “We welcome stringent measures to restrict mobile phone usage because maintaining student concentration has become a major challenge. The addiction is so severe that even parents are pleading with us to intervene, as they cannot control screen time at home. The CM has voiced our exact concerns, and government regulation will be crucial for our students’ future. While we currently fine students for bringing phones to school, restricting older students in classes 11 and 12 remains difficult. Given the freedom to buy devices, many use them to play games and shoot reels rather than for academic purposes.”Jadavpur Vidyapith headmaster Partha Pratim Baidya added, “I am completely against school children using mobile phones. While we can restrict usage on campus, monitoring them at home is nearly impossible without firm govt intervention.”In his Teachers’ Day address, CM Adhikari cited Gujarat as a model, noting that students from classes 1 to 12 there are prohibited from owning mobile phones. “Without these reforms, our education system and Teachers’ Day celebrations lose their meaning,” he stated.Recent regulatory efforts have already begun addressing the issue. The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education previously released guidelines to curb mobile usage on school premises. Similarly, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) introduced a health and hygiene handbook recommending a daily “digital detox” of at least one hour.Taking proactive measures, several private schools have already introduced initiatives to reduce screen time. These include distributing guidelines to parents, conducting life-skills classes, and engaging students in sports, creative projects, and skill-building activities to rejuvenate their mental well-being and channelize their energy effectively.Parents, too, are eager for structural changes. Sarbani Mandal, mother of a class 10 student, shared: “Keeping my child away from phones is a constant battle, especially when her peers use them and she feels left out of conversations. It creates significant conflict at home, but I cannot allow continuous screen time. This habit will only change if the govt enforces strict, uniform guidelines.”In Gujarat, the state govt strictly enforced govt resolutions prohibiting mobile devices for primary school students while rolling out targeted guidelines to curb screen time and promote physical activities. Similarly, the Delhi Directorate of Education issued a strict circular banning students and teachers from using smartphones inside classrooms, libraries, and playgrounds across all govt and private schools, requiring institutions to establish dedicated emergency helplines for parents. Karnataka has actively explored comprehensive legal frameworks to restrict screen time and social media access for minors under 16, alongside enforcing zero-tolerance policies for unauthorised device usage during school hours.Global precedents reflect a similar trend. Australia recently became the first country to ban social media for children under 16, while China has imposed strict daily screen-time limits and app restrictions. Several European nations, including Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, and the UK, are also preparing to implement comparable restrictions.
