Thiruvananthapuram, Sunday 31 Monday 2010: Mobile phones, the villains in many a child-abuse cases, have been issued a strict no-entry in schools from June.

The Education Department has not only asked students, teachers and non-teaching staff to refrain from using them but also sent a warning signal that seized mobiles would be auctioned off! In a circular, issued by the General Education Department on April 29, the Department had raised its dissent over the increasing incidents of mobile misuse in schools and the incapability of school authorities to curb it.

According to the new directions, a coin-telephone booth must be installed adjacent to the headmaster’s office for children to use in an emergency. Apart from classrooms, use of mobile phones in laboratories, library, school playgrounds and public places within the school campus have been strictly banned. The rule one applies to all including outsiders, parents or public, who visit schools for various purposes.

Teachers should be real models to students in this case, which is why the curb is upon them too, the circular says. However, teachers can use mobile phones in staff rooms.This time around, the Department has given permission to Parent Teachers Association (PTA) members too to enforce the ban.

In a circular issued on March 1, 2005, the Education Department had asked schools to set up ethics committees and in a later order on June 24 same year it had called for a ban on the use of mobile phones in schools, but to no effect.

“The earlier ban had not worked because there were lapses in the functioning of school ethics committees which were formed for the purpose. This time, we have issued strong directives and have roped in the PTA members and parents in the process. Auction of phones has been meant as a punitive action,” said A P M Mohammed Hanish, Director of Public Instruction.

A meeting was called by General Education Director on September 9, 2009 to discuss the issue in the wake of several disturbing incidents of misuse of mobiles in schools. In this meeting it was decided to re-introduce the ban in full force, while asking the school managements to provide coin phone facility to students/teachers.

The new directive has come in the wake of a discussion to amend the General Rules and Discipline in the Kerala Education Rules and to include the law that children should not bring mobile phones to schools.

(News agency)