Should schools allow students to keep phones?

“The biggest challenge we have these days is mobile phones in schools. Students know that it is illegal, parents know it is illegal but we still see them each day.” Those were the words of a school discipline master who preferred anonymity, when asked about the issue of telephones in school. Many in his position agree. Students in Rwanda are barred from having mobile phones while at school but the struggle to see that the rule is adhered to is one of the toughest that schools deal with of late. Teachers who try to enforce this regulation are seen as ‘enemies’ of the students who often cry about how they need “to do research on the Internet and stay updated.”Students continue to sneak the phones into school although both parents and teachers maintain that, a mobile phone is simply a big distraction to a student who ought to be concentrating on his/her studies. “You cannot avoid a cell phone today. My parents call me while at school because of the business I run outside school,” says a senior three female student from APE Rugunga in Kigali. She argues that she is a sportswoman who, any time can be called for sponsorship and/or trainings that will improve her career. “You cannot know where I keep my phone once at school, but to have one is unavoidable. It is always in silent mode and when someone rings, I ask for permission and pretend to go to the toilet where I pick up or ‘beep’ the caller so they can call me back,” she explains.If this student hides her phone it’s because having it at school is not allowed. The policy at their school is that, when the school authorities find you with one, they keep it for the rest of academic year.Her colleague Jean d’Amour Rukundo, was caught talking on phone during class time and his phone was confiscated and kept in the office of the discipline master.Distraction “I cannot do my mathematic exercises without listening to heavy music beats”, says Abou Kamanzi who often listens to music at high volume. He was listening to songs from his Nokia phone, with headphones in her ears in the way back from school. This 16 year old is addicted to the phone. He said however, “I keep my phone to do my Internet research. Our teachers do not give us all we need, Internet research is important and this iswhat I keep my phone for.”Another student disagrees with the research excuse. “It is not true; at our level we do not need so much research that would oblige us to have Internet all the time. Most of what we need can be found in the books we have in the library or from the radio stations,” says Leonie Mfitumukiza, a senior six student from APACOPE, Kigali.Mfitumukiza has been observing the use of phones amongst students and realised that “most of the students who keep them, only use them for non academic purposes.”She remembers her times at Ruramira High school in Kayonza where she was the students’ representative. Her classmates used to answer phone calls at night and to go on to spend the night outside. The result was that, some of them ended up with unwanted pregnancies and cut their studies short. “My parents bought me a phone, but we agreed that I always leave it at home. I use it only to communicate with them. Other business on phone as of now would distract me from studies,” concludes Mfitumukiza.A parent who was visiting his child at Lycee Notre Dame des Citeaux, a boarding school in Kigali, last week said, “in developed countries, students are free to use mobile phones at school but in Rwanda we have not reached that level yet.”“Children in high schools are not yet mature enough to manage cell phones. When you leave phones with them, they use them for unproductive things only,” he added. Many parents share the same idea with him and so do the teachers.“We do not fight the new technology because they are good to everybody, even to our young generation. But given that even grown people get distracted by phones, we opted to bar children from having phones at school”, says Sister Helene Nayituliki , the headmistress of Lycee Notre Dame des Citeaux.Nayituliki said, “There is no excuse when we find a child with a mobile phone, we expel him/her from the school because we have clear regulations.” The school, she said, expelled a student who was caught making a phone call last year, which sent a warning to other students. This girls’ school however does not negate students their right to communicate with parents while at school. They have bought a public phone which requires a student to buy a phone card which they use to call. “We make sure we control the use of that phone and when it is about parents needing their children, we ask them to leave their message with us”, explained Nayituliki. A similar phone is found at Lycee de Kigali, where also having a mobile phone at school can lead to a student’s expulsion. Some students have been known to use these phones to communicate with their lovers who, in most cases, are sugar daddies who put their lives at risk. Students with no source of income are more likely to be lured by those who can buy them mobile phones. It is usually either from a lover or a parent who chooses to ignore the schools regulations.What is the ministry doing? According to the Minister of State in charge of Primary and Secondary Education, Dr. Mathias Harebamungu, “There is no need for a student to have a phone at school since it is not a school requirement. If indeed one needs a phone, the school can always provide an alternative.”Harebamungu is known to be steadfast in the fight against this issue schools, especially because they cause distraction. Nowadays, he says there are more reasons we should not tolerate them. The security situation today could mean that even those with bad intentions may use these phones to collaborate with students. “With the fire gutting different schools today for example, why shouldn’t we assume that someone may call a student and give them incendiary instructions?” asked the Minister.With different instructions from the ministry, Mathias said “ninety per cent of schools now understand the need to prohibit the possession of phones at school. Students use public phones during school time.” The legal advisory office in the Ministry is gathering ideas to make a code of ethic for both teachers and students. It is believed that the ban of use of phone at school will be a point in the document.