Qld education: Social media in minister’s sights after phone ban

Queensland’s mobile phone ban in schools has greatly improved students’ lives, now the minister has a new target in her sights.

Queensland’s mobile phone crackdown in schools has been a game changer in children’s anxiety and anti-social behaviour, but Education Minister Di Farmer says social media is the No.1 issue students ask her to fix.

Speaking to The Courier-Mail exclusively for its Best in Class campaign, Ms Farmer also said she wanted to see teachers more valued, and admitted some educators were suffering due to the extensive workforce challenges sweeping the industry.

Ms Farmer – who is also the state’s Youth Justice Minister – said she had been “blown away” by the success of the mobile phone ban and the impact on Queensland’s schools.

“I actually can’t go grocery shopping at my local supermarket without a high school student, a teacher, a principal, a parent, coming up to me and saying, ‘thank you so much for doing that’,” she said.

“The teachers are saying the kids are concentrating more in the classroom ... (students say) I’m getting to know my friends better. It’s caused a social change, for the better.”

But while kids were finding a safe space in school without phones, Ms Farmer said a recent meeting with students opened her eyes to the grip social media had on them.

“I said to them, you’ve got me here as the education minister. If I could do one thing for you, what would that be?” she said.

“And I’d say 90 per cent of them said can you fix social media, so we’re not so dependent on it.

“We’ve got to support parents about how you actually manage that because it’s very, very difficult.”

Education Minister Di Farmer

The teacher shortages plaguing the state are well known to Ms Farmer – also a former employment minister – who said in remote and rural places, particularly, it was a conundrum.

“I know the teachers are really suffering ... in those places where there are shortages. They’re just having to work that little bit harder,” she said.

And while Ms Farmer is proud of some of the initiatives attracting more people to the industry, like the government’s Turn to Teaching program, she said retention is where the big conversations were being had.

“If you don’t treat your workforce right, and make them feel valued, then they’re not going to stay,” she said.

“I know behaviour is a real challenge, and I think since Covid it’s got a lot worse – occupational violence is a big thing.”

Ms Farmer sees an upcoming education roundtable at the end of the month as an ideal opportunity to canvas more solutions, saying she sees incentives to support rent and accommodation potentially being directed to the southeast, instead of limited to rural and regional areas.

Teacher shortages and the resulting safety issues were one of the key reasons for this week’s stand-off between the Queensland Teachers’ Union and the Education Department over planned industrial action.

Asked about the dispute, Ms Farmer said: “While I can’t comment at all on that action, it’s important that the issues of concern are heard.

“Teachers need to know we’re listening to them, we support them, and we’re going to do the best we can.”

Originally published as Qld education: Social media in minister’s sights after phone ban