Should the government ban handphones in schools?

" I wanna be freed,wanna be..." ,polyphonic ringtones ringing here and there,every nook and corner of our town." Can u go 2 de cinema,dude? Hey guys,r u all free 2night?", these are the few examples of Short Messaging System (SMS) written by people nowadays.Since the introduction of handphones in our country a long time ago,handphones have become a useful gadget.Nowadays almost every person,from teenagers to the old ones,have a handphones in their hands.

Recently,the Education ministry has approved that the students are allowed to bring handphones to school.Within a few days,the Education Ministry has received complaints of dissatisfaction from parents,non-government-organisations (NGO), and even students.They complain about the negative impact of allowing students to bring handphones to school.Since then,this topic has become the talk of the street.Everyone is discussing this topic."Should the government ban handphones in school?"this is the headline of our local newspapers for about three days.Some of them agree that handphones should be banned at schools,but some of them disagree that handphones are not allowed in schools.As for me,I am on the site that agree that handphones should be banned at schools.Why should handphones be banned at school?

First and foremost,the use of handphones in school can be very disruptive and disturbing.In the class,students can play the games in their phones,and even send SMS to their friends while the teacher is teaching.It would be time-consuming for the teachers to find out who is the "culprit".Teachers will also find it hard to remind the students to keep their phones off while classes are going on.When a handphone rings in the class,it will not only affect the owner's concentration,but it will also disturb the whole class.For some worse case,some of the students even play the games in their handphones,while the teacher is teaching in front of the class.

Besides that,the use of handphone in school will expose the students to danger.Young student,especially the lower forms,who bring handphones to school,are targeted by big bullies in schools.Sometimes,handphones can be stolen without the notice of their owners.Since pencils and erasers are being stolen all the time,handphones will vertainly be more attractive targets.Recently the new launched 3G phones have become the "most-wanted" items by the "handphones thieves" in school.Teachers in school will not be expected to fork out time to deal with such cases.Teachers will always use "Bring at your own risk" as the advice to the students who bring handphones to school.Since it is so risky to bring the gadget to school,we better ban it in schools.

The SMS system is so convenient to all handphones users.It enables the user to send messages to another person who also has handphone.But say to say that the language used for this purpose is so bad.Short form of words,symbols and many more are so common in the process of sending messages.If this continues,the standard of English language among the students will decrease.

What's the purpose of bringing handphones to school?It's so simple.Students want to call up their parents if they go back very late.But,before that,let's think about the occurance of public phones in schools.Public phones in schools are meant for students to call up their parents if there is any emergency cases.Are the public phones in schools not good enough for the students?Is there a neccesity for studetns to bring handphones to schools?If the answer is no,then why do schools install so many public phones in schools?Therefore,the public phones around the school compound are enough for students.

In conclusion,the government must ban handphones in schools,or else the consequences would be very disastrous.We must admit that handphone is a useful electronic gadget,but it must be used in right place and in the right way.

Kho Aik Jin
-2006-