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Bangladesh's School Mobile Phone Ban: What Schools Need to Know in 2026
Yes, in classrooms. Bangladesh's Education Ministry banned mobile phone use in classrooms by students and teachers through a circular issued in April 2011. The national rule covers classrooms, not the whole campus.
The rule is an Education Ministry circular of April 2011 that prohibits mobile phones in classrooms in educational institutions. It applies to students and teachers alike, and told institutions to take the measures needed to enforce it. The circular covers lessons in the classroom. It does not, on its own, bar students from carrying a phone onto school grounds or using it at break.
Then Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid announced the ban after members of the Children's Parliament raised it. The ministry said teachers' phone use in class was disrupting lessons. Since then, local authorities have gone further. In July 2022 the Narail district education office barred students from using phones in schools, colleges and madrasas after communal unrest linked to a social media post. We found no newer national rule as of 2026.
Each institution decides how to enforce the classroom ban, usually through its own rules on collection or keeping phones switched off and out of sight. In Narail, officials allowed bag checks and said violators would be punished. Commentators in 2026 have argued that the country still lacks structured national guidance on phones beyond the classroom.
Whatever the 2011 circular requires, lockable pouches let students keep their own phone, locked, from the first bell to the last, so the school or madrasa does not collect, store or answer for devices. Before The Internet ships lockable phone pouches and unlocking bases worldwide, including to Bangladesh, 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 the whole campus?
The 2011 circular covers classrooms. Schools can set stricter rules for the rest of the day, and some districts, such as Narail in 2022, have done so.
Does the rule apply to teachers?
Yes. The 2011 circular applies to teachers as well as students, and teachers' phone use in class was one of the reasons given for it.
Can schools collect phones at the gate?
Nothing in the national rule stops a school from setting a stricter policy, such as collection on arrival or lockable pouches, through its own rules.
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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