'Mobile phones should be banned from school'

Manila: A lawmaker has proposed a ban on the use of mobile phones inside school premises to prevent, among other improper practices, "cheating during examinations."

Rufus Rodriguez of the second congressional district of Cagayan de Oro said House Bill 4246 aims to prevent the improper use of mobile phones by students in all levels of learning, may they be in college, high school or elementary.

"With its smallness, a mobile phone can be used by a student to cheat during exams or take inappropriate pictures without being detected by the teacher," Rodriguez, a former dean of a Manila-based law school, said.

According to Rodriguez, the use of this technology and gadgetry by students has brought adverse effects on their education.

"The practice of bringing mobile phones inside the classroom disrupts learning. When a cell phone rings in class, the entire class is disrupted," he said.

"Most of the time it is the student who doesn't have a mobile phone that is distracted from learning," he said.

"There is a need to maintain a conducive learning environment for students. These gadgets have no place in educational institutions," he said.

Technology abuse

Rodriguez also said there have been cases where students are making crank calls about bomb threats to their schools just to shorten class time.

Philippine laws have yet to catch up with the fast pace of mobile phone or telecommunications technology like the Internet.

Rodriguez said imposing restrictions on the use of mobile phones by young students will inculcate in them the value that technology should not be abused.

He said particularly mobile phone and Internet technology empowers the youth, but along with these new capabilities the user should be responsible enough not to abuse these potentials.

There had been several instances when mobile phones are used by students to circulate obscene videos of individuals or destroy their reputation.