Nalbari bans teachers from using mobile phones in classrooms

Teachers in Assam's Nalbari district can no longer use mobile phones or tablets while taking classes, under a directive issued by the district's education administration.

The order, issued by Ratul Kumar Das, the District Elementary Education Officer and Inspector of Schools, Nalbari, applies to all schools in the district, The Sentinel reported on Monday. The instruction was sent to the heads of all schools on Saturday, October 31.

What the directive says

• Teachers may not use mobile phones or tablets inside the classroom while teaching.
• In exceptional cases, such as complying with a government instruction or conducting an online class, a teacher must first get permission from the school's headmaster or principal.
• Heads of schools must ensure strict compliance.
• If a teacher breaks the rule, the headmaster or principal concerned will also be held responsible.

The last clause puts the onus of enforcement squarely on school heads, who will have to monitor phone use in their institutions rather than leave it to individual teachers.

Mixed reactions

Responses among teachers have been divided, according to the report. Some worry the restriction could get in the way of routine online tasks and official work, which in many schools are now handled through phones. Others have welcomed the move as a way to keep discipline and give students a classroom free of distractions.

Teachers in Assam's government schools use phones for a range of administrative work, from attendance and data entry on government apps to messages from the education department. The directive's exception clause is meant to cover such needs, but only with prior permission from the head of the school.

Not the first such order

This is not the first unusual directive from the Nalbari education office. Das had earlier banned the use of imported gamochas at school functions across the district, directing schools to use only gamochas woven by local artisans. That order was aimed at supporting local weavers, for whom the traditional Assamese gamocha is an important source of income.

The wider debate

The Nalbari order comes amid a wider debate over mobile phones in schools. Several education departments and school boards in India have restricted students' phone use on campus, but rules aimed at teachers during class hours are less common.

It is not yet clear how the directive will be monitored in practice, or whether other districts in Assam will follow. The order covers classroom use only and does not bar teachers from carrying phones to school.