As secondary schools tighten smartphone use, parents say students can still outsmart the rules

Several parents also noted that students can bypass restrictions through their personal learning devices, which may allow access to Web versions of WhatsApp, Telegram and other platforms. Personal learning devices are school-prescribed laptops or tablets to aid secondary school students in their learning — only apps approved by the school can be installed.

Ms Michelle Goh, who has one son in Secondary 1, said students sometimes still secretly access messaging apps or games in class through these devices, or even take unnecessary toilet breaks to use their phones.

“It will solve part of the problem, but not the whole problem. It’s a good enough solution for now,” said Ms Goh. “If they secretly change tabs, it’s also very hard to monitor.”

TEACHERS: WE CAN’T BE EVERYWHERE AT ONCE

Secondary school teacher Polly, who has taught for more than 10 years, noted “a sense of growing anxiety” among parents, who often ask for advice on managing their children’s screen time amid their work schedules.

“They are worried about addiction, they are worried about obsessive compulsive behaviour regarding devices. They are also worried about what happens when the device is taken from the child … you get a lot of tantrums and anger management issues also arising when phones are confiscated,” she added.

There are also grey areas in the classroom setting. When students forget to bring their personal learning devices to school or fail to charge the devices, some teachers may allow them to use their phones to participate in the lesson, she said.

“While we generally discourage students from using their phones during lessons, in a matter of exigencies sometimes, we have no choice but to allow it,” said the teacher who declined to be named because she was not permitted to speak to the media.

She expects that the new rules are a signal from MOE that there will be stricter enforcement of the no-smartphones policy.

But there are challenges to this, she said. “Teachers can’t be everywhere all at once.”

Students may notice their peers breaking rules, but telling them to stop could invite mockery, she said.

Realistically, there will always be students who try to use their phones outside of the rules, said another former secondary school teacher who left the service this year. “I think it just depends on how much the school wants to enforce it.”

There are a few things the school can do aside from installing lockers to store the devices, she said. Teachers and school prefects could be placed on patrol during break times, for example.

But keeping all the phones in one place may not be practical since students have different dismissal times. With schools already facing manpower constraints, sending teaching staff out on patrols may not be feasible, said the teacher, who also did not want to be named.

“Personally, I feel the kids need to understand the rationale. If you just go about policing … if the kids just feel like all the teachers are out to get them, then it will also defeat the purpose.”

Even though students are already not allowed to use their phones during lesson time, some still keep their devices under the table. “Of course, if they don’t take it out and use it, the teacher won’t say anything,” she added.

Nevertheless, some families do not think there will be major adjustments needed, since it is a continuation of the no-smartphone policy adopted by primary schools.

Ms Lim, whose daughter is entering Secondary 1 in 2026, said her child is already familiar with these measures because her primary school is “pretty strict” about the guidelines. 

Communicating with her schooling daughter is not a problem. Ms Lim has left messages for her via the school office, or via text messages, knowing that she would read them after school.  

“She’s perfectly fine with it because she’s so used to approaching the general office if she has to inform me of certain changes in her schedule for the day,” she added.

MEASURES HELP ‘REBALANCE’ SCREEN TIME

While some adjustments may be needed, there will be benefits if the measures are consistently and sustainably applied, said Professor Michael Chia, who studies screen time use at the National Institute of Education (NIE) at Nanyang Technological University.

“In any kind of enforcement, teachers should be sustainably supported and they can provide real ground feedback on how best to enforce these new measures. It is important to include students at all levels in this collective effort and garner support from them,” he added.