Arabic version: مدارس نيو ساوث ويلز الحكومية تفرض حدوداً يومية لوقت استخدام الشاشات

According to ABC News, NSW public school students will face new daily classroom screen-time limits under state government guidelines to be introduced next year and made mandatory in 2028. Kindergarten to year 2 students will be allowed 15 minutes a day, while years 3 and 4 will have up to 30 minutes. The limit will rise to 45 minutes for years 5 and 6.

The rules will be more flexible in high school. Digital learning may account for 25 per cent of a subject’s coursework for students in years 7 to 10, while years 11 and 12 students can use laptops and tablets for half of class time. Education Minister Prue Car said children needed to return to basics, including pens and paper. “We want to make sure that at school it’s not the default, that the default is pen and paper,” she said.

The state government said the measures were intended to address falling academic results. Ms Car cited OECD Programme for International Student Assessment data showing Australian students were nearly twice as likely to spend more than two hours a day learning with digital devices than the OECD average. Education secretary Murat Dizdar said technology would remain important, but limits could help students concentrate and avoid distractions.

Some NSW schools have already tested tighter limits beyond the existing classroom mobile-phone ban. Chatswood High School principal Robin Chand said reducing device use had improved handwriting and engagement, and that students said they felt relieved when working with pens, paper and course books. Seventeen-year-old student Archie Newman said hard-copy books and handwriting helped him slow down, think more deeply and avoid digital distractions.