Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan on Tuesday said the government will bring new laws to ensure mobile phones are not used in schools.

"All what we have now is a mere government order that mobiles cannot be used in schools. But now it has been decided that we will introduce new laws to this effect, banning the use of mobiles in all schools," Balakrishnan told the state assembly.

Balakrishnan was responding to a submission by opposition legislator N. Jayaraj who said phones were being misused by students to trouble their classmates.

"I got a few complaints that mobile phones were being misused by school students. When I looked into the complaints I realised the gravity of the problem," said Jayaraj.

Although Jayaraj demanded that use of mobile phones be banned in educational institutions, including colleges, Balakrishnan said the ban would be imposed only in schools. IANS