Mobile phones will be banned across Northern Territory government schools in a move intended to curb classroom distractions, bullying and mental health issues among young people.
The ban — which follows other statewide policies around Australia — will take place from Term 1 of 2023.
Secondary school students will be required to turn the devices off and put them away during school hours.
They will be banned altogether at primary schools.
"I firmly believe that by banning mobile phones we'll see our students, our young people, engaging socially more, having those interactions at recess and lunchtime instead of spending their whole time on their phone," Education Minister Eva Lawler said.
"For our teachers, it provides them more time to teach the classroom rather than worrying about the disruptions caused by mobile phones."
Exceptions to the rule may be allowed for research or medical purposes.
The move has been welcomed by educators who say phone use has become a bigger distraction over the past few years, thanks in part to the rise of youth-oriented social media platforms like TikTok.
"A lot of our educators are spending a lot of time unravelling and working on issues that have started off school grounds and in social media," Nick Lovering from Katherine High School said.
"We hope by having a strong policy in our schools we can make sure that learning is the first preference in classrooms and that young people can also have a break and a breathe when they're at school from the constant pressure of their phones."
The NT's previous policy allowed individual schools to decide whether and how to restrict the devices, but Ms Lawler said the new one would provide consistency.
Non-government schools will not be captured by the policy, but the education minister encouraged them to follow the government's lead.
