Brudirect.com - News Headlines

BruneiDirect.Com

MoE Bans Mobile Phones In Schools
By Azaraimy HH

Bandar Seri Begawan - The Ministry of Education in a recent directive has banned students from bringing their mobile phones to school.

Teachers in particular have been in support of such move, as mobile phones have become a nuisance, especially during classes.

The ban takes effect in all government schools in the country.

Students, meanwhile, have mixed feelings on the ban, especially since mobile phones have become an integral part of students' daily life and parents having grown accustomed to their children owning mobile phones.

Some students voiced their frustration saying the move is lopsided.

Secondary school student Mohd Azri said, "It is totally unfair, if mobile phones are such a bad thing then they must also ban teachers from bringing mobile phones to school. I have seen teachers make and

receive calls in classrooms. If they say we cannot concentrate on our studies if we have mobile phones, then teachers too cannot focus on teaching if they bring their mobile phones."

Some, however, supported the idea of banning the phones saying that they really are a distraction to their studies.

Those in support of the idea, however, asked how effective the ban could be if schools lacked enforcement to keep them off the classes.

"Enforcement is the key here. They can ban them but how it is enforced is the question. They should have a mechanism to do that. Say, scramble the signal in school area so no one could use them, not even teachers. We will be better off going hack to our old culture of not having any mobile phones," said Mohd Akmal Hakim.

Most teachers welcomed the idea of having mobile phones banned in schools.

Cikgu Manna Hj Lakim said it was about time they were banned. She said, in her experience, mobile phones may have revolutionised the way students communicate but on the flipside, they are also being used to cheat with the bluetooth technology. "I have seen it in action. I have seen students cheating exams by sharing answers using the bluetooth on their mobile phones," she said.

Outside the school, parents could decide whether to give their children mobile phones, but inside schools, everything that affects their studies, especially exams, should be banned including mobile phones.

She said some 80 per cent of students in her school own mobile phones. Some parents want their kids to have mobile phones. Some, especially those on a busy schedule, actually rely on them.

"It's going to be difficult to contact our parents and friends and vice versa. Not only us but our parents are also used to us having one. Sometimes it is easy for them to call us if they cannot fetch us from school, or they could easily contact my friend to help me to go home from school," said Nurfitri Hijanah.

It is also convenient for the students, she said, if they wanted to tell their parents if they were to go to their friends’ house after school to do homework, etc.

However, Cikgu Masrina said if the students want to contact their parents, they could use public phones in schools. But students also need to take care of the public phones and not vandalise them.

However, some students said public phones are not a good idea because it would be difficult if parents want to call their children.

Some students said the best way is to discipline students caught using their phones while in classrooms. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Click Here To Have Your Say On This Story

Brudirect.com News

Back to News Page

Write to Us

Brunei's Fastest Growing Website with