Reykjavík mayor questions cost of storing pupils’ phones

Storing pupils’ mobile phones in Reykjavík primary schools could cost up to 75 million Icelandic krónur, mbl.is reports. The expense would cover cabinets, compartments, storage boxes, supervision and procedures linked to the schools’ phone-free policy.

Reykjavík Mayor Hildur Björnsdóttir said the requirement came from the Ministry of Education’s nationwide phone-free policy for primary schools. The city council approved the policy for Reykjavík schools this summer, before the minister’s legislation took effect.

“We have asked the minister to give municipalities an adjustment period at the very least, but ideally I would like to see much more flexibility,” Björnsdóttir told Morgunblaðið.

She said such expensive solutions were unnecessary. Some children could leave their phones at home, she said, while others needed to bring them to school, possibly to pay for bus travel or extracurricular activities.

“We can find much more economical ways to provide a place to store the phones,” she said, adding that she hoped for a positive response from the minister.

Björnsdóttir said spending tens of millions of krónur on the policy would not be a good use of taxpayers’ money.