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Uzbekistan's School Phone Ban: What Schools Need to Know in 2026
Yes. Uzbekistan has restricted mobile phones in schools and universities since Cabinet of Ministers Decision No. 139 of 21 May 2012. Phones must be silent and out of reach during lessons, and 2023-2024 orders tightened enforcement with locked storage.
The legal basis is Cabinet of Ministers Decision No. 139 of 21 May 2012. It requires students, staff and visitors at educational institutions to keep phones silent and out of sight, in a place not readily accessible, so not in a pocket. Filming that damages the institution's image is banned. A 2023 Ministry of Pre-school and School Education order (No. 282 of 31 August 2023) and a January 2024 order from the Presidential Administration added detail.
The 2012 rules were presented as protecting the quality of teaching, preventing cheating and reducing health risks to young people. Human rights groups at the time argued they also limited citizen reporting. Enforcement was patchy until 2023-2024, when the school ministry and the Presidential Administration ordered schools to apply the rules strictly and to involve parents in repeated violations.
Under the 2024 guidance, students leave phones in locked storage, for example in the lobby or classroom, or hand them to teachers before class. Psychologists and prevention inspectors carry out checks. A first violation brings a warning, and schools should notify parents after repeated violations and take steps to bring them to administrative responsibility. Tashkent's governor offered a reward to schools that went phone-free.
Whatever Decision No. 139 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 Uzbekistan, 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
Can students bring phones to school?
The 2012 decision does not forbid carrying a phone, but it must be silent and out of reach. 2024 guidance asks schools to use locked storage or collect phones before lessons.
Can parents be held responsible?
Yes. Schools are told to notify parents after repeated violations and take steps to bring them to administrative responsibility.
Does the rule cover teachers?
Yes. The 2012 decision applies to staff and visitors at educational institutions as well as students.
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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