<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/children-parents-screen-time-negative-impact-on-language-development-tv-video-games/d82d45db-9fa5-49af-8e60-93f88a6f9bcf" rel="" target="" title="Screen time"><span>Screen time</span></a><span> will be limited in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/victoria" rel="" target="_blank" title="Victorian"><span>Victorian</span></a><span> primary schools to a maximum of 90 minutes per day under a landmark education reform in the state.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The state government today revealed a suite of changes to be introduced in 2027 to reduce sceen time and ease cost-of-living pressures for families with children who use devices for school.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Parents will no longer be required to fork out for laptops or tablets, saving an average of $500 per student, the government said.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/israel-hamas-peace-deal-donald-trump-legacy-former-israel-ambassador-dave-sharma-interview/f6dbdf8b-ff4d-4ee7-b773-8a8da49292ba" target="_blank" title="Trump secured peace deal through 'force', says former ambassador to Israel"><strong><span>Trump secured peace deal through 'force', says former ambassador to Israel</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Under the tranche of education changes, primary schools will be responsible for providing access to these costly devices.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And in a bid to cut down on screen time, primary school teachers in Victoria will enforce a 90-minute per day time limit for students in years three to six.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There will be "minimal" screen time for students in kindergarten to year two.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/victoria-news-screen-time-to-be-limited-in-schools-to-90-minutes-per-day/fcb314dc-0508-4a2f-b1d6-984716dfbb4f" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The fresh guidelines aim to promote "purposeful technology use" and reduce overexposure to screens during school hours.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Schools will have access to new guidelines for lesson plans using devices from term one next year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/household-stress-over-1-million-households-now-experiencing-cost-of-living-crisis/58a49c4d-6c2a-4f80-a049-5a4b901d4d73" target="_blank"><strong><span>More than a million households at critical stress point</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Victorian Minister for Education Ben Carroll said laptops and tablets were useful tools for learning but acknowledged they can be "distracting".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It makes sense to minimise the time that primary school students spend on devices when they are at school," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Victoria led the nation by banning mobile phones from schools in 2020, and now we are leading the way again by ensuring that primary school kids can use a school laptop or tablet, instead of needing their own."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Australian Education Union (AEU) responded to today's announcement and labelled it "laughable" amid shoestring budgets in public primary schools.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>President Justin Mullaly said many schools will struggle to afford the devices.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Not requiring parents to pay for tablets or laptops is a good thing, they should never have had to in the first place, but the Allan government is living in a dreamland if they think public schools have the budgets available to provide devices to all students when Victorian public schools are the lowest funded in the nation," Mullaly said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This is a disgrace and makes the claim that Victoria is the education state meaningless nonsense.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There is no way that Victoria's public primary schools will be able to ensure students have access to up-to-date technology and secure devices unless the premier stops the con-job and fixes her public school funding mess."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/student-phone-ban-victorian-state-schools-to-bar-mobiles-cyber-bullying/b075b60a-45b0-4fbb-8dff-8d55f742476b" rel="" target="_blank" title="Victorian public school students were banned from using their phones in 2020"><span>Victorian public school students were banned from using their phones in 2020</span></a><span> in an effort to tackle cyberbullying and distraction in the classroom.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Under the law first introduced in 2019, students from prep to year 12 are required to switch off their phones and store them in lockers until the final bell.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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