Falklands : Mobile Phones Banned from Falklands Schools
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 22.12.2005 (Article Archived on 05.01.2006)
If you are a student in the Falklands the mere possession of a mobile phone at school can land you in trouble!
MOBILE PHONES BANNED FROM FALKLANDS SCHOOLS
By J. Brock (FINN)
Parents in the Falklands who think they might give their children mobile phones for Christmas had better think again. According to the Director of Education, Mrs. Sylvia Cole, the use of mobile phones in school is disruptive to both students and staff. “If mobile telephones interrupt an external exam, then the exam paper of the mobile phone’s owner is declared null and void,” she continued.
Mrs. Cole speaks from experience. “Mobile phones have, in the past, been used as a means of teasing, humiliating, or bullying other pupils,” she said. The loss or theft of mobile phones takes up unnecessary staff time and effort,” she said.
Pointing out that texting and mobile phone photography, especially in lessons, disrupt learning, she said that the phones give some pupils yet another reason to lose concentration and distract others.
Simple guidelines for parents and guardians have been published and they are as follows:
No pupils are allowed possession of mobile phones in Falkland Islands schools during the normal working day. This applies to the Infant/Junior School, the Falkland Islands Community School, and Settlement Schools.
Mobile phones found in students’ possession will be confiscated and released only to a parent or guardian.
Possession of a mobile phone in school is a breach of the school rules and will be dealt with accordingly.
Even if the phone is switched off, students are not allowed to have them in their possession at school during the working day.
Mrs. Cole concludes that no pupil may bring a mobile phone into a Falkland Islands school during a normal working day and that they are not allowed under any circumstances.
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