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Albania's School Phone Ban: What Schools Need to Know in 2026
Yes. Albania has banned phones in pre-university schools since September 2018, for students and teachers. A stricter instruction in force since the 2025-26 school year says students should not bring phones, and any phone brought in must be switched off and left in a classroom box until the end of the school day.
The current rule is a Ministry of Education instruction issued on 1 September 2025 and published in the Official Gazette later that month. It applies to all pre-university institutions. Students who bring a phone, with a written request from a parent, must switch it off or set it to airplane mode and place it in a box or drawer in the classroom from the first lesson to the end of the school day. Teachers may use phones only in emergencies or for teaching approved by the principal.
Minister Lindita Nikolla first ordered the ban in August 2018, covering students and teachers during lessons from 17 September 2018. A further guideline followed in 2023. In November 2024 Prime Minister Edi Rama admitted the ban had not been implemented, and the government closed TikTok for a year after a student was killed near a Tirana school. The 2025 instruction replaced the 2018 order, and the ministry has said it will enforce it strictly.
In practice schools collect phones in classroom boxes or drawers, and parents reach children through teachers or the school office. A first breach leads to counselling. Repeat breaches are recorded and parents are told, and a phone that is hidden or used without permission is confiscated and kept in the principal's office until a parent collects it. Reports from 2024 described unlocked collection points, students with second phones and teachers unable to supervise every lesson.
Whatever the rule in Albania requires, and the 2025 instruction asks shkollat to keep phones out of use all day, lockable pouches let students keep their own phone, locked, from the first bell to the last, so the school does not collect, store or answer for devices. Before The Internet ships lockable phone pouches and unlocking bases worldwide, including to Albania, and can print the school's name or crest on them. Schools buy them outright: one price, no subscription, lease or per-student annual licence. Send us your student numbers and any written quote you already have, and we will beat it.
Frequently asked questions
Does the ban cover breaks and lunch?
Yes. Under the 2025 instruction phones stay switched off in the classroom box from the start of lessons until the end of the school day, so they are not available at breaks.
Can a student bring a phone for safety reasons?
Only if a parent makes a written, justified request to the school administration. Even then the phone must be switched off and stored during school hours.
Does the rule apply to teachers?
Yes. Teachers may not use phones in class except in emergencies or for teaching purposes approved by the principal.
Related reading
School phone bans by country · Phone-free schools toolkit · How to roll out phone pouches in a school
Written by the team at Before The Internet, a Toronto-based phone-free company that rents lockable phone pouches for events across North America and sells them to schools and venues worldwide, shipping purchases to any country.
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