New Zealand’s new Conservative government wants to ban mobile phones in all schools in the future. The plan announced during the election campaign will apply for the first 100 days of his term, said Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who was sworn in earlier this week during a visit to a school in Auckland.

“I will not stand by and watch educational success decline, as has happened in recent years,” the head of government wrote on the X platform (formerly Twitter).

According to his National Party, this aims to increase the concentration and performance of students, as the party writes on its website. Many schools have already seen positive results following the ban on mobile phones, also abroad.

France had already banned mobile phones in schools in 2018, and the Netherlands and Britain want to do the same. The issue is also being debated in Germany, but the German teachers’ association recently spoke out against an outright ban.

Ministers should also hand over mobile phones

“To reverse the decline in performance, students must focus on their tasks during their valuable class time,” writes the National Party. The decline in achievement over the past 30 years not only endangers children’s future livelihoods, but also New Zealand’s prosperity. Ministers and MPs should also hand over their smartphones during cabinet and parliamentary group meetings so they can work more focused.

This week, Luxon sparked outrage when he announced he wanted to repeal parts of the previous left-wing government’s drastic anti-smoking laws. The coalition, which also includes the populist NZ First party, wants to use the measure to fund tax cuts.