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17 July 2012 | last updated at 09:47PM

PTA: No mobile phones to school please!

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Kuala Lumpur: The Parent-Teachers Association (PTA) is against the Education ministry's proposal to allow students to bring mobile phones to school, contending that it would have more negative than positive implications.
Its national chairman Prof Datuk Dr Mohamad Ali Hassan said students should not be allowed to bring any electronic gadgets to school, including mobile phones or iPad because this would not only distract them from their studies but also create an unhealthy 'show-off' culture among them. He further pointed to the possibility of such gadgets being illicitly used to make recordings, besides adversely affecting the students' health in the long run. "Mobile phones should not be allowed during school hours. If it is after school hours, that is up to the parents or guardians," he told Bernama here, when asked to comment on the ministry's decision to allow students to carry mobile phones or iPads to schools, beginning next year. Deputy Education minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong had said the ministry would set guidelines. Mohamad Ali dismissed students' security as justification for the proposal, saying schools are provided with public telephones for the students to call their parents in case of an emergency. Meanwhile, Parent Action Group for Education (Page) chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said there are pros and cons to allowing students to bring mobile phones to school. "It will help parents to track their children's movements and allow students to contact their parents in an emergency. "However they should not be bringing sophisticated sets to school, which would attract potential thieves. When there is a theft, time would be spent and wasted while trying to look for the culprit and this would likely disrupt classes," she opined. -- Bernama

Read more: PTA: No mobile phones to school please! - Latest - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/pta-no-mobile-phones-toschool-please-1.108924##ixzz20w3aZ6UV