Cellphone ban coming to Manitoba schools this fall: Kinew – Winnipeg

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says a cellphone ban is coming this fall to schools across the province.

“Provincewide, the education minister is sending out a letter today to all the divisions saying no phones in school — no phones at all in K-8,” Kinew told 680 CJOB’s The Start on Thursday.

“In the high school years, Grade 9 to 12, that’s where we want to have a conversation about being a responsible user of technology. So there it’s not going to be a complete ban.

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“Having TikTok on in math class is not helping you, and it’s not helping the student beside you — in fact, it’s actively causing distractions and it’s causing issues and it’s getting in the way of you learning.”

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Kinew said the province is giving flexibility to school divisions to decide if kids will be required to leave their phones in their lockers, at the principal’s office or on their teacher’s desk.

“The schools are going to be able to figure out the local solutions.”

Exemptions for will be made for medical reasons and in cases where phones can be used as a learning aid.

Manitoba is the last province in Western Canada to make a move on banning the tech in classrooms — a controversial topic in recent months.

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