A Nigerian academic has called for a nationwide ban on the use of smartphones in secondary and tertiary institutions, citing their growing role in distracting students from academic activities.
Dr. Saeed Olorunnisola, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, made this statement while delivering a paper at the second national symposium of the Mission for the Eradication of Examination Malpractice (MEEM), held in Osogbo, Osun State.
He expressed concern over how students have shifted their attention from books to screens, stating that the misuse of smartphones — especially for social media — is affecting learning across schools and universities.
“Social media is causing distraction in secondary schools. Tertiary institutions are the worst. Students don’t care any longer. Some of them are taking photo shot of notes and they will not read them. They are usually on social media.
What we have right now is a misuse of technology and it must be taken away. We have a university that has banned their undergraduate from using mobile phones,” he said.
According to him, that unnamed university saw a noticeable improvement in student concentration following the ban. He believes that more institutions should consider such measures to help restore focus and discipline in the classroom.
The symposium, themed “Effects of Examination Malpractices on Education and National Development,” was organised by MEEM, a non-governmental initiative established by the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, B-Zone. The group’s Board of Trustees Chairman, Prof. Buniyameen Abdulkareem, emphasized that the event was designed to engage policymakers, educators, and students in addressing the growing threat of exam malpractice in Nigeria’s education sector.
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