You can prohibit mobile phones without prohibiting communication

The debate about whether students should have mobile phones should not even be a debate since the policy is clear that students are not supposed to have them. Education Times explores this issue particularly because it remains a big problem in schools. Are the schools fighting a lost battle? Is it vain to be seen to swim against the tide? Yes the rules say no phones allowed in school. However, each and every day more students are caught with phones. The students in their defence are quick to point towards the need for ‘research’ and communication with their family members.” Schools can deal with this by prohibiting phones but also establishing clear communication lines. Parents should be availed with the telephone contacts of the school authorities so they can call in case there is an urgent issue to address. A student can also ask the school authorities to call a parent in case of a situation that calls for that. The point here is to cut out those who supply phones with ill intentions particularly the sugar daddies or sugar mummies. Parents also need to know that a child is sent to school to learn not to communicate with the outside world. In the meantime, policy makers should continue studying this issue because at the end of the day technological changes call for adaptation not resistance. A country like Rwanda with its ICT ambitions may eventually have to think of regulating usage instead of total banning of mobile phones in schools. It is an obvious fact that many phones (smart phones) today are basically mobile computers that can be used to do so much more than just calling. In other words this debate is just starting.