ANKARA

France will test a ban on mobile phones in schools as soon as the new year starts in September, the country’s education minister said.

The “digital pause” will affect 200 schools for now, outgoing Education Minister Nicole Belloubet told a news conference on Tuesday.

She voiced plans for a ban in all schools across the country as of January 2025.

“However, and I insist on it, it does not mean for me to reject the pedagogic utilization of the digital (means),” the minister added, noting the benefits of artificial intelligence as a learning tool.

The point of the ban is to prevent students from using their phones in the schoolyard, the minister said.