Cost of school phone pouch scheme criticised by Long

The cost of a planned pilot programme to buy magnetic pouches to prevent mobile phones being used in schools has been criticised by Justice Minister Naomi Long.

Ms Long said the expenditure on the scheme unveiled by her ministerial colleague Paul Givan was “hard to fathom”.

She added that phones come with an off switch “which is absolutely free”.

Education Minister Mr Givan this week issued new guidance to schools over restricting the personal use of mobile phones throughout the school day, including at break and lunchtimes.

While many schools in the region already restrict mobile phone usage, the guidance is aimed to ensure a more consistent approach across all schools.

It includes a pilot programme involving a pocket-sized fabric pouch with a magnetic latch that is sealed at the beginning of the school day and opened using a special unlocking base.

The Belfast Telegraph reported Mr Givan saying he had set aside £250,000 of capital funding to roll out the scheme.

Reacting to this on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Ms Long said: “At a time when resources are so stretched in the public sector, this expenditure is hard to fathom.

“Not only do most schools already have policies in place to deal with this issue but each mobile comes with an off switch which is absolutely free…”

The Department of Education will invite expressions of interest for the pilot from schools over the next number of weeks.