Mobile phones and our schools

Gershon P. S. Doku Opinion Jul - 18 - 2015 , 07:08

Time was when as a condition for graduation, students in tertiary institutions were required to present a handwritten project work, such as dissertation or thesis. But the same cannot be said of today because of the leniency that the personal computer provides, such as font face or size, line spacing, designs, page layout, references, among many other facilities which aid users.

In his book ‘Deep down my heart: A history of cardiothoracic surgery in Ghana,’ published in 2000, the renowned Ghanaian heart surgeon, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, made reference to his early days as a medical student at the University of Ghana Medical School. He presented an assignment which he personally typed with a manual typewriter to a panel of lecturers, and it was rejected because it was not hand-written.

The then young Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng was given just a few minutes to bring a hand-written copy or consider himself failed.

The panel had thought that it would be impossible for him to convert the typed copy into a hand-written one within that frame of time, and even challenged him that someone had done the work for him, which he vehemently denied. He rushed to his dormitory to bring his handwritten copy to the panel, which was accepted.

Actually, he first produced a hand-written copy, before the typed one. Generations have passed through the Medical School since that event and one wonders whether students present handwritten assignments.

GES circular

This calls to question a circular by the Ghana Education Service to schools that students should not be allowed to use mobile phones in school. Time was when before receiving or making a call, one had to make a journey.

Time was when fixed lines and mobile telephones were used for only receiving and making calls. But things have changed. There appears to be nothing that can be done on a computer and keyboard that cannot be done on a modern mobile phone.

In one senior high school, some boarders managed to bring mobile phones into the schools and they used them in their dormitory at times convenient for them. However, some of their colleagues blew their cover and the phones were seized and burnt at a morning assembly.

In a chat with some of the students whose mobile phones were burnt, they admitted that though the use of mobile phones on the school compound was not allowed, their parents endorsed it.

One student claimed that at the time of the seizure, he had some mobile money information on it, while another said that was the only means he could communicate with his parents to have his boarding supplies replenished since his parents did not call. There were other reasons that were given.

Unreliable fixed lines on school compound

This writer wanted to find out from the students whether there were fixed public phones on their compound, but one of them claimed they were very unreliable and the others corroborated this. It was observed that main fixed line networks had some challenges because they were powered and an interruption in electricity supply exacerbated the situation.

The students suggested that their SIM cards should have been given to them before the phones were burnt or they could have been seized and given to them on the day of vacation or given to their parents.

In an earlier article by this writer in the Daily Graphic on the topic, ‘Buy me a mobile, please,’ it was said that people preferred particular phones with certain applications or were motivated by some reasons to use a particular phone.

This supports the uses and gratifications theory which suggests that a media user seeks out a media source that best fulfils the needs of the user. Uses and gratifications assume that the user has alternate choices to satisfy his/her need.

Even day-old babies have choices and needs that must be satisfied. Today, children in basic schools are taught computing or Information and Communications Technology (ICT), which has features and applications like those of the mobile phones. Authorities need to take a second hard look at denying students the outright use of the mobile phone on school premises.

It is suggested that boarding schools acquire mobile money transfer equipment to provide such services to students.

In some schools, boarding students are not allowed to move out of the compound during the school term and in some places, exeats are hardly endorsed for students to go out.

Modern mobile phones have Internet applications, which, most schools, however, do not have access to, because it comes at a cost. Yet, students can use their mobile phones to access the Internet at their own expense.

This, when allowed, will help them in their research and assignments. What school authorities can do to help monitor their students is to throw the options to the parents.

Parents who wish to communicate with their children in boarding schools should register the phones with the school. The school will take custody of the phones until Saturday after lunch and before dinner when the students can make use of their phones at a designated area, say assembly hall, under supervision, and during which time the school’s mobile money transfer system can be activated for the students to receive their cash.

Sadly, many adults and parents cannot use all the applications on their mobile phones without the assistance of their preschool or primary schoolchildren.

This may be because many adults today were either not taught ICT or computing in school or were “born before computer” . We are now living in a new era of electronics, digitals, fast communication and technology which must be balanced with good education and supervision. The senior high schools can be the launch pad for this activity.

The writer has a Diploma in Communication Studies and B.Ed-Guidance and Counselling
Writer’s email : gershdophs@yahoo.com