Spanish
Lima.- The Congress of Peru approved this Friday a bill that restricts the use of mobile phones in schools and educational institutions to improve children's concentration and reduce cases of cyberbullying.
"The regulation of cell phone use will apply to all educational institutions and programs of basic education at the primary and secondary education levels, both in public institutions and in private institutions, according to the approved opinion," the Congress indicated this Friday on its website.
The debated opinion was approved in the first instance with 81 votes in favor, zero against and one abstention; its purpose is to "contribute to the improvement of attention and school performance, by reducing the use of cell phones, and, with this, reduce overexposure to the Internet".
The proposal was supported by the legislator of the Marxist party Perú Libre, Segundo Montalvo, who is also the president of the Education, Youth and Sports Commission, and pointed out in the plenary that with this measure there will be fewer possibilities of distraction during the teaching of classes, which will allow to improve school performance.
In the debate, the author of the project and congresswoman of the ultraconservative party Renovación Popular, Milagros Jáuregui, indicated that her initiative will reduce cases of mental disorders resulting from the excessive use of cell phones and similar devices.
"The children will study in a more suitable environment for the learning process. It will be avoided that their children may be subject to 'cyberbullying' during their stay in the educational institution," he said.
He stated that the educational authorities will establish corrective measures for students who violate the law, considering criteria of gradualness, reiteration, reasonableness, and proportionality.
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In this sense, the rule indicates that the directors of the institutions will have to implement specific protocols to guarantee their compliance, and with this it is sought that the application of this law is not punitive, but adaptive to the realities of each school.
In addition, it includes that the Ministry of Education and Health should develop awareness campaigns on the excessive use of cell phones in the school environment to guide students, teachers and families, and thus explain the negative impacts on mental health and academic performance.
