Greeks take action

Keep your cell phone in your school bag – otherwise you will be expelled!

With the start of the new school year, cell phones are strictly forbidden during lessons in Greece. "The motto is: the cell phone stays in the school bag," says Education Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis. Anyone who does not comply will be expelled from school for a day.

In the event of a repeat offense, there is a threat of exclusion from lessons for several days. Anyone who also records their fellow pupils or teachers on video without permission could, in the most drastic case, even be expelled from school completely and would then have to transfer to another school.

Head of government also supports guidelines
The Greek head of government Kyriakos Mitsotakis also announced a tougher approach to pupils who use cell phones in the classroom during a meeting of the Council of Ministers in the middle of the week, which was broadcast on the radio.

"We do not necessarily have the ambition to ensure 100 percent compliance from the first moment, but we want to explain to children, parents and teachers why it is important that the student is absolutely committed to the educational process at school," Mitsotakis said.

This is the first time in Greece that the use of cell phones in the classroom has been punished with severe penalties. Previously, there was a general ban on use. However, teachers were unable to enforce it and the ban on cell phones was relaxed - until the government's new initiative. A spokesperson for the secondary school teachers' union (OLME) said on the radio that it was important to convince pupils to switch off their cell phones and not just threaten them with punishments.