The Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan has approved the procedure for the use of students' personal mobile devices for educational purposes. The corresponding order No. 197 was signed on May 19, 2026 and registered by the Ministry of Justice of Turkmenistan on June 3, 2026 under number 1948.

The order was issued in accordance with Part 13 of Article 16 of the Law of Turkmenistan "On Education" dated June 5, 2021. Oversight of the document's implementation is assigned to the Deputy Ministers of Education for higher and secondary vocational educational institutions, as well as for schools and preschool institutions.

Basic provisions of the procedure

The document applies to teaching staff and students of educational institutions of both state and non-state ownership. Personal mobile devices include mobile phones, smartphones, tablets, laptops, smart watches, and other personal electronic devices that perform communication functions, connect to the Internet, and are capable of taking photographs and recording audio and video materials.

According to the document, mobile devices can be used by students and teachers as a source of information in e-learning and the use of distance learning technologies. To achieve this, educational institutions must ensure the availability of electronic teaching and methodological complexes, electronic libraries, information and communication tools, and appropriate programs for mobile devices, as well as the readiness of teaching and educational support staff to use them.

The following functions are listed in order: providing access to educational websites, viewing multimedia content, playing audio, video and graphic files with educational information, using e-books and training courses, as well as monitoring the completion of assignments and analyzing the activity of students for individual planning of educational work.

It is separately noted that the use of mobile devices should not create obstacles to realizing the potential of the education system, introducing innovations, and acquiring necessary knowledge.

Requirements for educational organizations

When organizing the use of mobile devices, educational institutions are required to consider a number of factors: potential harm to students' health from prolonged use of devices with small screens, difficulties in working with graphics, reduced network bandwidth when exceeding the permissible number of simultaneous Wi-Fi connections, and the need to create special storage areas for mobile devices during classes.

Educational organizations are also obliged to provide retraining and advanced training for teaching, educational support, and administrative staff in connection with the use of e-learning and distance technologies. Institutions of professional pedagogical education, as well as organizations for advanced training, must include materials on the use of mobile devices in their curricula, taking into account modern achievements in science and technology, the needs of teachers, and international experience.

To ensure students can effectively use their devices, educational institutions must provide methodological assistance from specialists—computer science teachers or IT specialists—in installing educational programs and connecting to electronic libraries.

Rules of use and ethical standards

According to the document, students may use mobile devices during the educational process only with the permission of teaching staff and only for educational purposes.

The procedure establishes ethical standards for the use of mobile devices: to prevent interference with the educational process, devices must be switched to "silent" or "airplane" mode, and video, photo, and audio recording of other students and teachers without their consent is prohibited. At the same time, the need to adhere to the principles of respect for the dignity of students and teaching staff is emphasized.

Educational institutions are obliged to explain to students and their parents (or persons replacing them) the principles of effective, safe and correct use of mobile devices. Specifically, this includes the fact that the devices are intended solely for educational purposes; the potential health risks associated with prolonged use of devices with small screens (excessive eye strain, exposure to electromagnetic radiation, etc.); and the need to avoid access to sources of objectionable content that could harm the moral and spiritual development of the individual, including materials promoting terrorism, war, social, national, tribal, ethnic, racial, or religious hatred, as well as content that is harmful to national and moral values, or to the lives and health of students. It is specifically noted that it is necessary to avoid actions that contribute to the strengthening of gender and other inequalities, as well as actions that do not correspond to generally accepted ethical standards - intimidation, aggressive messages, contacts with persons who have committed socially dangerous acts, and the like.

Requirements arising from the charters and internal rules of educational organizations are also mandatory for teachers and students. Disputes related to the use of mobile devices for educational purposes are resolved in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Turkmenistan. Relations not regulated by this procedure are governed by other regulatory legal acts of Turkmenistan.