90% of UAE students study in phone-free schools, nearly double the OECD average

Dubai: The latest results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025 revealed that the UAE is making progress in controlling phones inside schools, as 90.1% of the country’s students study in schools that do not allow their use, compared to 49.5% in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Experts and academics confirmed that banning phones in schools enhances the learning environment and reduces digital distractions. PISA data showed that UAE students use digital devices for learning purposes within the school at a rate of 1.9 hours per day, compared to 1.7 hours in the organisation’s countries. On a broader scale, the movement to keep phones out of schools is gaining global momentum, having moved from a limited disciplinary measure to a broad educational policy, with the number of education systems implementing a national ban on phones rising to 114, covering 58% of the world's countries. The data places the phone at the heart of the attention battle within the classroom, as 23% of UAE students reported that their classmates were frequently distracted by digital devices during most or all of their science classes, compared to 28% in OECD countries. Students studying amidst this distraction scored 24 points lower in science compared to their peers who were not exposed to it, after accounting for socioeconomic backgrounds, compared to an 11-point difference at the OECD level. The indicators gain particular importance with the 2026-2027 academic year, in light of the tightening of phone controls in schools in the UAE, in parallel with the expansion of technology and artificial intelligence, thus establishing a clear equation: restricting the distracting personal device, and expanding targeted educational technology. Restricting use of phones In detail, data from UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report reveals a remarkable acceleration in the ban, as the percentage of education systems implementing a national ban on phones rose from 24% in 2023 to 40% at the beginning of 2025, and then to 58% last March, equivalent to 114 education systems. In the United States, 39 states have implemented bans or require school districts to restrict phone use, while models vary globally between banning the device for the entire school day or only during class, with exceptions for educational purposes, health conditions, and people with disabilities. UNESCO links this shift to growing concerns about distraction, cyberbullying, and the impact of digital use on student well-being, but it emphasises that banning alone is not enough, and that what is needed in parallel is to build digital culture and the student's ability to manage the screen. Ban the phone, not the technology According to PISA, 96.3% of UAE students reported that their schools have subject-related guidelines for the use of digital devices, while 81.7% said they are learning how to evaluate information produced by artificial intelligence. The figures reveal the essence of the UAE model: the personal phone outside of class, and educational technology at its heart. Local regulatory frameworks reinforce this trend, as schools' commitment to procedures for not bringing mobile phones onto school grounds is included in the inspection of private schools in the Northern Emirates, while educational authorities place the regulation of devices within the system of discipline, safety and school conduct. Families are essential partners Parent Adel Shehata believes that the essence of the ban lies in giving the student daily hours during which he/she can disconnect from notifications, conversations and games, thus restoring more space for focus and direct interaction within the school, especially since the effect of distraction is not limited to the phone user, but extends to those around him. Parent Mohammed Taha places emergencies and communication with children at the forefront of family concerns, which necessitates providing a fast and reliable school channel that allows the family to reach the student when necessary, without turning the exception into an outlet that returns the phone to daily use. Parent Mayada Yassin believes that the school ban loses some of its effect if the student returns to unrestricted screen use after school, making the family an essential partner in controlling digital time. This view intersects with UNESCO's emphasis that the ban should be accompanied by building awareness and self-control. Restoring focus in classrooms From inside the classroom, teacher Asmaa Ammar places restoring the student's focus and the lesson time at the forefront of the gains of controlling the phone, especially since the digital interruption does not end as soon as the screen is turned off, but rather breaks the chain of attention and affects the continuation of the educational task. The UAE data confirms the scale of the challenge. In PISA 2022, 24% of students reported that digital devices distracted them in