Bolivia kicks off school year with ban on cellphones

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LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia began to implement a ban on cellphones in classrooms Monday, as the school year starts in the landlocked South American nation.

Children in Bolivia, and teachers, will be asked to keep their cellphones in lockers or in their bags while they’re in classrooms. The measure will be implemented in both private and public schools and applies to pupils of all ages.

Several countries have already implemented mobile phone bans in schools in an effort to increase the attention span of children and reduce distractions, including Brazil, France and South Korea.

The measure was drafted under the administration of Rodrigo Paz, a centrist who won last year's election and took office in November, following two decades of rule by the left-wing Movement Toward Socialism.

Paz said on Monday that he does not oppose technology, adding that he is attempting to improve connectivity for Bolivian students by using satellites to connect schools in rural areas to the internet.

“I will not give you Wi-Fi to watch movies,” Paz said during an event in Copacabana, a town on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake. “I am going provide connectivity so that pupils can download knowledge.”

Last year, the Paz administration lifted a ban against foreign-owned internet satellite providers that had been put in place by the previous government. Bolivia has long relied on a Chinese-built satellite to provide internet in remote areas, but the satellite known as the Tupac Katari is getting old and has limited capabilities. Bolivia has some of the lowest internet speeds in the region.

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