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Students in KSA flout mobile phone ban
25/02/2014
The Education Department in Jeddah has warned against the increasing numbers of male and female students using mobile phones during school hours despite the ban implemented by the Ministry of Labor.
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Article
Abdulmajeed Al-Ghamdi, a spokesman for the Education Department in Jeddah, told Arab News that the daily reports his department receives confirm that more than 60 percent of students take their mobiles with them to school.
"They use sophisticated methods to get the devices inside schools despite the extensive searches that are carried out at the gates," said Al-Ghamdi. "Pupils are often caught browsing indecent content on their mobiles."
He said the number of the devices found on campus is on the rise inside schools despite warnings issued by the ministry.
The issue, he said, is being hotly debated among officials in the education sector and has led to a teaching crisis.
"The use of mobile phones has altered behavior patterns and broken regulations inside schools. This is why the ministry has forbidden students from bringing their mobile phones with them," he said. "The majority of students are caught sending photos and songs via Bluetooth and WhatsApp during classes. It is a grave issue and a threat to the ethical upbringing of our sons and daughters."
Fuhaid Al-Dhafer, a psychology teacher at a Jeddah high school, said: "School administrations have the right to take action, including confiscating mobile phones, summoning the parents and removing any indecent content from the phones' memory cards."
He said that he has routinely caught many students circulating indecent material on WhatsApp during class.
"I wonder how they are even able to pay attention to what the teacher is saying," said Al-Dhafer.
He pointed out that both private and public schools have phones for students to make calls from when necessary. "There is simply no need for students to have their phones with them at school," he said.
Saad Al-Subaiei, a student adviser, said that it is both the responsibility of parents and school -administrations to ensure that schools are mobile phone-free.
"The negative impact of circulating indecent material and profanities stems far beyond the issue of values and principles. Students feel they are able to get away with such behavior because they go uncaught by both parents and teachers. These types of jokes and images contradict the essence of our religion," he said.
He said that recent studies have confirmed that the use of mobile phones negatively affects social behavior and relationships with others. "Frequent users of mobile phones at this age tend to become aggressive and violent," he said.
Raaid Al-Omary, activities supervisor at the Khaled bin Alwaleed School, said parents are to blame for indulging and spoiling their children with the latest technological gadgets at the expense of their education.
"Mobiles should be used constructively, not as a way of showing off among peers," said Al-Omary. "The Ministry of Education strictly prohibits students from using mobile phones on school premises. Schools regularly conduct seminars and lectures on the negative effects of using mobile phones excessively."
Fahd Al-Harthi, an academic, also blames parents for giving their children gadgets with little control or supervision, but dismisses the decision to ban the use of mobile phones at schools, saying students will always find a way to get their phones through security.
"The Ministry of Interior has banned using mobiles during driving. Look where that put us now," said Al-Harthi. "The main factors that should be discussed are the effects such a ban could have on educational, health and security factors."
Nevertheless, he said that studies have proved that the continuous viewing of unrealistic content negatively affects photographic memory. "This will lead to a loss in self-confidence and linguistic ability," he said. "But I still maintain that parents bear 80 percent of the responsibility for misbehavior and bad grades." |
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