A recent news story reported that a teenager in Sri Lanka committed suicide after being told off for using her mobile phone while she was at school. Needless to say there has been quite a large response and reaction to this event, as shocking as it is.
And it would appear that the people in charge in that country have now decided that using mobile phones while you are at school is banned. No questions, no exceptions – no pupil is now allowed to use their mobile phone while they are at school. This also applies regardless of which school they happen to go to. They might be attending public school or private school; it makes no difference at all.
Could this happen in this country, or is it something that is restricted to Sri Lanka? It will be interesting to see how things progress from here, as obviously this is a big and tragic event that has taken place. But will it trigger a larger ban on phones for teenagers, or will it be something that never progresses from Sri Lanka?
Some schools in this country already have strict rules about mobile phones. Quite often it is stipulated that no phones should be turned on during school time, i.e. during lessons. It is perfectly fine to use them during break time though. In the end it is recognised that having a phone can be useful in certain situations. For example let’s say your child comes out of school and finds they cannot get the bus home for some reason. With a mobile phone they can call you and ask for a lift home. They would also be able to call you if they wanted to let you know where they were. There are countless reasons why having a phone with them is a good idea.
But of course they should not be using them during lessons when they are supposed to be learning. Some feel that the outright ban for children in Sri Lanka is something of a knee jerk reaction to what has happened. There is no doubt a lot of shock reverberating around after this untimely and tragic death. But how many children would do the same thing if they were caught and disciplined over using their mobile phones when they shouldn’t be? Common sense should tell us that there wouldn’t be very many at all.
This event has apparently not been completely isolated though. Although this is the only pupil in Sri Lanka who has died, it was stated that another pupil attempted to take their own life after a similar event. It was thought that they were terrified at what their parents would think if they discovered they had broken the rules by using their phones.
It seems hard to imagine such an event occurring here in the UK. But then that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t happen. We must just see how things develop in the future, and whether or not UK children will be allowed to hang onto their own phones.