June 18, 2025 — Kandahar, Afghanistan — In a bid to enforce stricter control over education and social discipline, provincial Taliban authorities in southern Afghanistan have implemented an outright ban on smartphones within all schools and madrassas, effective immediately, local educators and students confirmed to AFP on Wednesday .
According to the Kandahar provincial Education Department, the move was taken “to ensure educational discipline, focus” and is rooted in “Sharia perspective,” stating that smartphones pose a threat to “the future generation.” The restrictions apply to students, teachers, and administrative staff across all public and religious educational institutions
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🎓 Implementation, Reactions, and Enforcement
Classrooms across Kandahar were reportedly cleared of devices this week. “We did not bring smartphones with us to school today,” said 22‑year‑old teacher Saeed Ahmad, describing a sense of relief among some educators who believe the ban could enhance learning environments
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However, not everyone agrees. Students have expressed frustration at how the policy could inadvertently hamper academic work. “When the teacher writes a lesson on the board, I often take a picture so I could write it down later. Now I can’t,” said a nameless 12th‑grader. He voiced concerns that losing this digital assistance could negatively impact their studies, especially in a region where girls are already barred from secondary and higher education
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Class monitoring has intensified, with teachers reportedly searching students and confiscating smartphones on sight. In some madrassas—a critical component of identity and civic formation for many youth—the ban is being enforced rigorously: “Now there’s a complete ban. No one brings smartphones anymore,” a 19‑year‑old madrassa student told AFP
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🕌 Broader Cultural and Political Implications
This decree is part of a broader Taliban effort to restrict modern imagery and communication tools; other provinces have instituted bans on images of living beings in media, and some officials even refuse to be photographed or recorded
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. Last week, Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada urged officials and scholars to limit smartphone use, commanding, “This is the order of the leaders, and we must accept it”
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Some local security personnel have reverted to simpler technology. AFP reports a 28‑year‑old Taliban security member explaining, “I have now found a brick phone … I used WhatsApp on my smartphone sometimes, but now I don’t use it anymore.” Others have shared contact details only on basic mobile devices, abandoning online messaging platforms
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🌍 Vodafone to Global Trends
Afghanistan is not alone in regulating phones in classrooms. Nations like France, Denmark, and Brazil have implemented partial or full bans to curb distraction and mental health issues among students
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. However, Kandahar’s approach is distinctly comprehensive and ideological, rooted in a strict interpretation of Sharia law rather than grounded in educational or psychological research.
📚 Impact on Education and Technology Use
Although reducing distractions may benefit classroom focus, critics highlight broader consequences:
Educational Use of Smartphones: In the absence of books or digital resources, students rely heavily on phones to photograph notes and learn remotely.
Gender Disparity: Against a backdrop of girls being excluded from secondary and tertiary education, this ban limits educational resources even further for all students, worsening existing inequalities.
Digital Isolation: As the Taliban expand restrictions on visual content and communication, Afghan youth risk being increasingly cut off from global exchanges and knowledge.
🔮 What Comes Next
As Kandahar enforces this ban, several questions loom: Will other provinces replicate this policy? Will the Taliban implement broader restrictions—such as CCTV maintenance or tech bans for teachers? And how will students adapt to life without digital tools?
For now, the line between religious edicts and modernization appears sharply drawn in Afghanistan’s southern heartland. What remains to be seen is whether practical drawbacks will prompt policymakers—or public pressure—to recalibrate this sweeping prohibition on smartphones in education.
If you’re exploring international trends in classroom technology, Kandahar’s policy offers a stark, culturally driven example of how the balance between tradition and modern learning tools can profoundly shape educational policy.