This archive report was first published on 21 November 2019.
November 21, 2019, Bandung, Indonesia - In a bid to reduce smartphone addiction among children, officials in Bandung have hatched a plan to give them their own fluffy chicks to raise.
Approximately 2,000 four-day-old chicks will be distributed to pupils at elementary and junior high schools in the coming weeks. The chicks will be handed out to students to care for before and after school, and they can keep them at home or on school premises if they don't have space in their backyard.
The unusual project, dubbed "chickenisation," is part of a national plan to broaden pupils' education launched by President Joko Widodo. Bandung's mayor, Oded Muhammad Danial, said the project is not only about curbing schoolkids' phone habits but also about teaching them discipline and responsibility.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony held on Thursday, a dozen chicks in cages were distributed with a sign that read: "Please take good care of me." Mother Yayah Ratnasari, who received a chick, expressed hopes that the project might encourage her son to become a poultry farmer. However, not all students are enthusiastic about the idea, with some preferring to play with their smartphones.
