OAJ calls for legislative changes to restrict mobile phone use in Finnish schools
The Finnish Education Trade Union (OAJ) is calling for legislative changes to more effectively restrict students’ use of mobile phones in schools. Nina Lahtinen, the union’s Director of Education Policy, stated on Radio Suomi’s broadcast that the current laws are inadequate.
Under current regulations, consent is required for teachers to confiscate students’ phones. Lahtinen expressed that it complicates matters when students can choose each lesson whether to consent to their phone being taken. This process adds unnecessary complications, she stated. OAJ advocates that new legislation should allow for proactive measures by enabling teachers to confiscate phones at the beginning of lessons or school days to prevent disruptions.
Currently, schools can prohibit phone use during lessons through their own rules. A teacher is permitted to take a phone away if the student causes disturbances with it, or if it disrupts teaching or learning.
Lahtinen emphasized that OAJ hopes the government will ensure teachers retain their pedagogical freedom moving forward. Teachers should have the authority to decide what learning methods are suitable for different groups and students. Importantly, Lahtinen clarified that OAJ does not support an outright ban on mobile phones in schools.