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Rwanda's School Phone Ban: What Schools Need to Know in 2026
Yes. Rwanda bans primary and secondary students from having mobile phones at school under Ministerial Instructions N°001/MINEDUC/2018 of 11 July 2018, which followed a Cabinet decision in June 2018. Students are told to leave phones at home.
The legal basis is Ministerial Instructions N°001/MINEDUC/2018 of 11 July 2018, which prohibit students from using mobile phones at school. The ban covers primary and secondary pupils, who are expected to leave phones at home and use them only with their parents. Reports at the time described no exemptions. We found no reports of the rule being changed since.
In 2016 a Korean-backed programme planned to let pupils use phones at school for research. Policy then shifted. In June 2018 Cabinet approved a ban, with the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion leading the campaign and the education and local government ministries in support. Ministers cited classroom distraction and the risk of traffickers using phones to contact children. The ministerial instructions followed in July 2018.
The 2018 campaign set out graded sanctions. A student found with a phone the first time is sent home to fetch their parents, who receive counselling and sign a commitment letter. A repeat offence can lead to expulsion. Parents and teachers broadly welcomed the ban when it was announced. Schools apply it through their own internal rules.
Whatever the rule in Rwanda requires, lockable pouches let students keep their own phone, locked, from the first bell to the last, so schools do not collect, store or answer for devices. Before The Internet ships lockable phone pouches and unlocking bases worldwide, including to Rwanda, 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
What happens if a student brings a phone to school?
Under the 2018 measures a first offence means the student is sent home to bring their parents, who are counselled and sign a commitment. Repeat offences can lead to expulsion.
Does the ban apply to primary schools?
Yes. It covers both primary and secondary students.
Why did Rwanda ban phones in schools?
Ministers cited distraction in class and the risk of human traffickers using phones to track and direct children.
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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