A push for tougher consequences, as concerns grow over compliance with the Government’s school cellphone ban.

The Ministry of Education says only about half of secondary students are following the rules.

The Education Review Office is calling for phones to be confiscated more often, and for parents to contact students through school offices instead.

Chief Review Officer, Ruth Shinoda, says the ban is working far better in primary schools.

"It's because most primary schools just take the phone off the kids when they walk in, so kids just stopped taking their phone to school. And then, encouragingly, they say kids just stop asking their parents for phones."

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