Students of nearly 18,000 government and private schools in Himachal Pradesh will no longer be allowed to bring mobile phones on school premises from March 1. The state government on Thursday announced a complete ban on mobile phone use by students, calling it a necessary step to protect academic focus and student wellbeing.Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu made the announcement while addressing the closing ceremony of the 69th National School Games Under-19 Girls’ Handball Tournament at Ghumarwin in Bilaspur district. The decision comes a day after a tragic incident in Ghaziabad where three sisters allegedly died by suicide due to addiction to mobile gaming, a development that has intensified concerns over excessive screen time among children.Under the new rule, any student found in possession of a mobile phone on the school premises will be fined Rs 500 and the device will be confiscated. In addition, parents of such students will be required to attend mandatory counselling sessions at the school. To ensure sustained enforcement, the Education Department has been directed to draft a standard operating procedure (SOP), particularly to deal with repeat offenders.Himachal Pradesh has 14,678 government schools, including 9,943 primary schools, 1,786 middle schools, 961 high schools and 1,988 senior secondary schools. The ban will also apply to over 3,000 private schools operating in the state.The Chief Minister noted that mobile phone use during school hours and lunch breaks had become a major distraction, affecting both learning outcomes and social interaction among students. “We are committed to ensuring a disciplined and healthy academic environment,” Sukhu said, reiterating that education quality remains the government’s top priority.While Himachal’s literacy rate stood at 82.8 per cent in the 2011 Census, it rose sharply to 93.3 per cent as per NFHS-5 (2019-21), a progress the government says must be safeguarded.