Students protest at education ministry over mobile device guidelines

Taipei, May 24 (CNA) Several dozen students from different senior high schools sat outside the Ministry of Education (MOE) Saturday morning to protest the ministry's draft guidelines on managing students' use of mobile devices on campus.

They held up slogans including "Students are not minor roles. Students are the main body of education!" and "No education without participation; no democracy without discussion."

The draft policy, aimed at helping schools manage students' use of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, was released Wednesday for public comment on a government platform.

It stated that mobile devices should be held collectively by schools or by each class at elementary and junior high schools.

For senior high schools, it proposed that schools should convene meetings with teacher, parent and student representatives to discuss unified rules for the management of device use.

A student representative surnamed Wang (王) at the protest said their main demand is that the ministry withdraw the draft.

He said that the MOE did not ask students if they needed the guidelines and there were no polls before the draft was announced. Although the ministry did hold public hearings, they were too small in scale and many students were unaware of them.

The ministry has previously held large-scale hearings that included students from across Taiwan, proving that it is feasible, he pointed out.

Wang said that requiring students to store smartphones collectively is not beneficial for future education, and merely restricting their use does not address internet addiction.

A student surnamed Tsai (蔡) from Banqiao Senior High School in New Taipei raised concerns about the discussion procedures regarding mobile device management in senior high schools.

While the draft said that student representatives should make up one third of those engaged in discussion, there was no rule instructing the school council not to modify the conclusions of such discussions, meaning that the final regulations may not meet students' demands.

A student from Taoyuan Yuda High School, who identified himself as Jimmy Wang (王吉米), said senior high school students should learn to take responsibility for themselves instead of being overly restricted.

He acknowledged the importance of respecting classroom management but noted that new technology can also serve as effective teaching tools. Outside of class time, he argued, students should be free to decide how to use their devices rather than being subject to a blanket ban.

The MOE on Friday issued a statement in advance of the protest, acknowledging the students' maturity and critical thinking on the issue.

The ministry said that the draft guidelines were not meant to restrict mobile device use, but to ensure that students at each learning stage can use these tools appropriately by setting up clear and flexible principles.

The draft is currently in the preview stage, in which opinions are collected, it said.

The ministry also pledged to hold a student forum on June 1, which will invite student groups and student representatives from across Taiwan to discuss the issue.