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Are Phones Banned in Pakistani Schools? Punjab's Rules Explained for 2026
Partly. Pakistan has no national ban, but Punjab's School Education Department banned students from using mobile phones in all government and private schools in November 2025. An earlier 2019 Punjab notification covered students under 16.
Education is run by the provinces. In Punjab, the School Education Department directed education authorities in November 2025 to stop students using mobile phones in all government and private schools, with immediate effect. The directive referred to a Punjab Assembly resolution. Reports did not mention exemptions or set penalties. A separate March 2025 Punjab order banned phones in college classrooms.
Punjab first acted in November 2019, when the education department notified district authorities of a ban on mobile phone and social media use during school hours for students under 16 in public and private schools, citing parents' complaints. The November 2025 directive widened this to all school students. Reports in 2026 also describe a Punjab ban on teachers using phones in school. Other provinces have not issued comparable province-wide rules.
The 2025 notification went to all heads of institutions, who are expected to enforce it through their own school rules. The department told schools to put more effort into co-curricular and personality development activities in place of phone time. Published reports do not describe a standard storage method or fines, so schools decide how phones are collected or kept away during the day.
Whatever the Punjab directive requires, 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 Pakistan, 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 Punjab ban apply to private schools?
Yes. The November 2025 directive covers all government and private schools in Punjab.
Is there a ban in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or Balochistan?
We found no province-wide school phone ban outside Punjab. Schools in other provinces set their own policies.
What happens if a student brings a phone?
The directive does not set a standard penalty. Each school decides how to enforce it, usually through its own discipline policy.
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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