Almost three months after the National Association of School Governing Bodies (NASGB) caused controversy with a call to outlaw cellphones in SA's schools, the issue has seemingly tailed off.
In May, NASGB general secretary, Matakanye Matakanye, was outspoken on the issue of cellphones in schools, adamant that the devices were detracting from productive classroom activity. He said music and “undesirable material” were causing a breakdown in the learning environment and he would petition school governing bodies to formulate policies banning cellphones on school premises.
At the time, the Governing Body Foundation (GBF) spoke out against the proposal, saying a blanket ban on cellphones in schools was not the answer.
GBF CEO Tim Gordon said an unreserved ban on cellphones in schools would merely drive the use of them underground, where it is harder for education authorities to control. He said cellphones have distinct advantages for school children as far as communication, safety and the advancement of technological literacy go.
Vital tools
One reader said: “My daughters need their phones on them in this day and age [when] it is no longer possible for them to just walk home from school, like we were able to 20 years ago.” Another, raising the educational potential of the devices, said: “There have been many projects that want to bring information to the learner in the classroom. The only effective way to see this happening is going to be through the use of cellphones as a cheap and reliable source of information.”
On the flipside, a reader - pointing to some of the potential harms like 'sexting' and bullying - said: “Status will always be around and so will bullies. Why make it global, why make it public? And why should we want our children to be hurt even more?”
Unlikely endeavour
According to Gordon, not much more has come to light since NASGB voiced its intentions of prohibiting cellphones in schools - save for an active and ongoing debate between agents from the two disparate schools of thought. He says it is unlikely a full-on ban will be enforced.
Matakanye says the body has commissioned its various structures to compile reports on how schools are experiencing the use of cellphones by their pupils. “They will present their reports to us on 11 August and that will show us how much of a problem this is.” He says the matter will be taken from there.
Meanwhile, according to Gordon, many schools have taken matters into their own hands and come up with solutions that allow children to benefit from cellphones while ensuring authorities can control them. He says the GBF has advised a number of schools - primary schools in particular - as to what measures can be put in place to curb cellphone-related hurdles.
“Some schools, where the money has been available, have put in lockers where cellphones are locked up until the end of the school day. Others have instituted a policy where cellphones are handed in at the start of the school day and returned at home time - and then some have allowed cellphones on the children but have ruled they will be confiscated if misused.”
World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says banning cellphones in SA's schools would be a retrogressive move based on technophobia. “There is no room for technophobia in education. Tools like cellphones should be embraced for their benefits rather than barred, based on the perception of their ills. The call to outlaw the devices is not based on any scientific rational whatsoever, which makes it a pointedly un-academic stance.”
He says the issue “died down” when NASGB did not respond to the many criticisms of its standpoint.
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