All students in Serbia will be without phones; Parliament will make a decision in a month

As he explained, the proposal envisions that students would deposit their mobile phones upon entering school and could only retrieve them after the end of classes.

Under this model, phones would also not be used during breaks, except in special cases when a mobile device is necessary due to a student’s health condition, accompanied by appropriate medical documentation.

Planned Ban Model

The proposed legislation foresees a strict model that would apply equally to primary and secondary school students:

• Deposit upon entry: Students would be required to deposit their mobile phones immediately upon entering school.

• Use only after classes: Devices could be retrieved only after the completion of all lessons.

• No phones during breaks: Under this model, phones would not be used even during school breaks.

Teachers communicate with parents

In all other situations, Pašalić emphasizes, teachers would be responsible for communicating with parents if necessary, which he points out is their legal obligation.

According to him, the draft law enjoys significant public support but also faces criticism, most often from those directly affected by the ban – the students.

For this reason, the Youth Advisory Panel, composed of secondary and primary school students, will provide their comments and suggestions on the proposed measures by the end of this week.

After this process, Ombudsman Zoran Pašalić plans to submit the draft law to the National Assembly of Serbia by early next year at the latest, while the timing of its consideration will depend on parliamentary procedures, Blic reported.