"Carinthia Unofficial"

Cell phone ban as proof of how quickly things can happen

Carinthia's primary school pupils will have to say goodbye to their smartphones in educational institutions in future.(Bild: thinkstockphotos.com, krone.at-Grafik)

While other federal states are still debating, Carinthia has simply acted. The ban on cell phones was fast-tracked.

What didn't work in Vienna and Styria, Carinthia is leading the way - at least in this matter: Discussions have been going on for months, experts, teachers and parents' representatives gave their opinions and addressed their demands to those responsible - and then, bang, there it was: the cell phone ban! At a time when political decisions often take years, the speed with which this ban has now been implemented is surprising. There were no endless delays with the cell phone ban - apparently it worked without it. Within a very short space of time, a measure was decided and put on track. 

On the last Monday in January, the SPÖ education officer Daniel Fellner suddenly announced the planned ban on cell phones in Carinthia's elementary school - and last Thursday (unusually quickly) the decree was issued to the educational institutions. On the very day that the SPÖ provincial parliamentary group - led by MP and teacher representative Stefan Sandrieser - called on their own education officer to take action on the cell phone ban in an urgent motion.

Announced and enacted: Daniel Fellner (SPÖ) made short work of the cell phone ban(Bild: GLEISSFOTO/GERNOT GLEISS)

ÖVP leader Martin Gruber wants a ban in the entire compulsory school sector(Bild: Evelyn Hronek)

If the politicians want...
In principle, all parties agree that the issue must be addressed. Hardly anyone is against the ban - only Gerhard Köfer's Team Kärnten is critical of blanket bans. The governing partner ÖVP, on the other hand, would like to see the ban extended to the entire compulsory school sector and will also discuss this at a club meeting at the Moosburg education campus. The details will also soon be discussed at a unanimously agreed inquiry.

It remains to be seen whether the ban will actually have the desired effect. But one thing is certain: if politicians want to, they can act quickly. Perhaps they should also get into the habit of doing so with other important issues.