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As part of Grow Well SG launched in January 2025¹, the Ministry of Education (MOE) will introduce enhanced measures in secondary schools to help students cultivate healthier screen use habits and better support student well-being in the digital age.

Tightened Guidelines for Use of Smartphones/smartwatches in Secondary Schools

2. Screen use among students has been shown to displace important activities such as sleep, physical activity and social interactions with friends and family, and is linked to poorer holistic well-being. Earlier this year, MOE had provided guidelines on managing students' use of smartphones and smartwatches² in primary and secondary schools, with school rules tailored according to school profile, context and curriculum needs.

3. Under current guidelines, secondary school students should not use smartphones/smartwatches during lesson time. As part of the enhanced measures starting from January 2026, these guidelines will be broadened to include non-lesson time. This means that the use of smartphones/smartwatches³ will not be allowed during school hours, including recess, co-curricular activities, supplementary/enrichment/remedial lessons, etc. The students' devices will be kept in designated storage areas (e.g. lockers) or school bags during school hours. Where necessary, schools may allow students to use smartphones by exception.

4. Our collective goal is to create a school environment that prioritises students' learning and enhances their engagement, fostering healthier habits on screen use and better well-being for all students.

Adjustment of Default Cut-Off Timing for Device Management Application in Personal Learning Devices (PLDs)

5. To help students foster healthy digital habits, from January 2026, the default Device Management Application (DMA) sleep hours in PLDs will be brought forward to 10.30pm from the current 11.00pm. This can help students to manage device use prior to bedtime, and nudge them to sleep earlier. We strongly encourage parents who have opted for less restrictions on their child's PLD after school hours to consider bringing the sleep hour earlier to align with the shift in default sleep hours of 10.30pm. Schools will continue to conduct Cyber Wellness lessons in the Character and Citizenship Education curriculum to teach the importance of appropriate use and screen time management.

6. Together, these enhanced measures seek to reduce digital distractions, foster meaningful face-to-face interactions, and promote healthier lifestyles for our students. Parents play an important role to encourage their children to adopt healthier screen use and good sleep habits, and schools will continue partnering parents to reinforce these practices.

Footnotes

1. Grow Well SG is a national health promotion strategy jointly launched by the Ministry of Health (MOH), MOE and Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) to enhance preventive care and inculcate healthier lifestyle in children and adolescents, aimed at holistically addressing children's health and well-being in the digital age. More information can be found here:

   /news/press-releases/20250121-grow-well-sg-to-support-families-in-building-healthy-habits-in-children

2. The guidelines also include smartwatches, as they enable communication through messaging and access to apps including social media, which can lead to distractions, passive screen use and reduced peer interactions.
3. Students are allowed to wear POSB Smart Buddy Watches for e-payment. However, pairing POSB Smart Buddy Tags with devices like myFirst Fone is not allowed in schools as myFirst Fone has smartwatch-like features, such as messaging and voice/video calls, which may cause distractions and disrupt learning.