Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday renewed his call to ban the use of smartphones and other electronic devices during class hours in both public and private schools, alongside a proposed social media ban for minors, amid a rise in violent incidents in schools.<\/p>\n
Gatchalian’s renewed appeal came after the suspension of in-person classes at a public school in Batangas due to a shooting threat.<\/p>\n
He also cited a foiled school attack in Laguna in February involving seven students allegedly recruited by foreign handlers through the online game Roblox.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, three students were killed and several others were injured in Tacloban City after two male minors went on a shooting spree.<\/p>\n
Authorities also thwarted another alleged attack in Leyte province, while separate stabbing incidents were likewise reported in schools in Cavite and Batangas.<\/p>\n
Gatchalian is pushing for the passage of Senate Bill No. 627, or the Electronic Gadget-Free Schools Act, which seeks to prohibit Kindergarten to Senior High School students from using smartphones and other electronic gadgets during school hours.<\/p>\n
The proposed measure provides exemptions for educational purposes, including classroom presentations and other teacher-directed learning activities.<\/p>\n
It also allows the use of mobile devices for students with specific health conditions and during emergencies or situations involving a perceived threat or danger.<\/p>\n
“Maliban sa pagtiyak sa kaligtasan ng ating mga mag-aaral, isinusulong din natin ang smartphone ban sa mga paaralan upang matiyak nating nakatutok sila sa pag-aaral at hindi sila naaabala (Aside from the student safety, we will also push for smartphone ban to ensure that students will focus in their studies),” Gatchalian said. (PNA)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian is pushing for a classroom smartphone ban alongside a proposed social media restriction for minors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":258115,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-258114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-latest-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t