Andorra to Roll Out Phone Lockers in All Secondary Schools After Successful Pilot

The Andorran Ministry of Education and Universities is finalising a secure storage system for mobile phones to deploy across all three secondary schools this academic year, following a successful pilot at Encamp secondary school.

The Encamp trial, launched last year, required students to deposit their phones in lockers on arrival and collect them at the end of the school day. This measure sought to boost student interactions and ensure compliance with the existing ban on devices during lessons. State Secretary for Education and Universities Josep Anton Bardina highlighted that the pilot "went very well" and gained backing from the educational community, setting the stage for rollout to the other centres.

Ministry teams are now assessing the best custody option after testing various approaches. Bardina noted trials with lockers alongside alternatives like sealable pouches, which were found unreliable in practice. The priority is a secure method that protects devices while supporting secondary schools, where phone rules differ from the stricter enforcement already in place for pre-primary and primary levels.

Under school regulations, mobiles are not permitted on site, though secondary students have faced challenges with adherence. Officials aim to make the system operational this term, with a tender planned for procurement once the format is set. Bardina underscored the need for an "effective" solution to enable daily deposits at all three sites.