Chongqing enacts ban on mobile phones in schools

Multiple regions across China have enacted legislation to ban primary and secondary school students from bringing mobile phones onto school campuses, as concerns mount over classroom disruption and the impact on young people's healthy development.

The latest to join the list is Chongqing, where the municipal legislature issued a regulation that takes effect on Tuesday, authorizing schools to prohibit students from carrying smart terminal products, including mobile phones, onto school premises or using them on campus.

Tuesday also marks the first day of the new semester for primary and secondary schools nationwide.

Chongqing, however, is not the first. Several other regions have already enacted similar local legislation. In 2022, the Fujian Provincial People's Congress passed a regulation prohibiting students from bringing mobile phones, including smartwatches, into classrooms.

In 2024, the local legislatures of Guangzhou in Guangdong province and Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, both adopted decisions to strictly limit primary and secondary school students from bringing smart terminal products into schools.

At the national level, the Ministry of Education issued a notice in 2021 stating that students should, in principle, not bring personal mobile phones to campus, and schools should not use mobile phones to assign homework or require students to complete homework using mobile phones.

In 2025, the ministry further tightened its rules, explicitly stating that "bringing mobile phones and other electronic products into classrooms is strictly prohibited" and encouraging students and parents to jointly participate in "screen-off initiatives".