The hearing came after the Education Ministry announced that it was preparing a project to veto smartphones in classrooms.

Senator Flávio Arns, president of the Commission, requested to hold the meeting.

This Commission approved a bill in October to ban cell phones in schools.

Citing a survey by Nexus company, the R7 website showed that 86 percent of Brazilians support some measure to control the use of cell phones in schools.

The survey also shows that 54 percent of those polled are in favor of a total ban, while 32 percent support a partial restriction, only using smartphones in didactic activities where they serve as a pedagogical tool.

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