Educationist and founder of Gifted and Talented Education (GATE), Mr. Anis Haffar has responded to various criticisms against his suggestion that students be allowed to use mobile phones in school stressing that, it will serve as a great tool for information gathering and prevent them from relying only on what they are taught in class.
Mr. Haffar was reported to have said, "Under no circumstance must we deny young people access to smartphones because it can provide more information for students than any teacher can. I taught in California as far back as 1984 and students were allowed to use mobile phones. We cannot deny young people access to this technology in the 21st century.
“I can understand how people feel about the need for this new trend, but we need to put the structures in place to incorporate discipline in the use of these mobile phones. Teachers themselves need to be taught to use smartphones so that they can in turn use them to teach students appropriately and take away the monotony of teachers always being at the center of the learning process," he explained.
This did not go down well with some Ghanaians as standing requirements of the Ghana Education Service (GES) prohibits students in second-cycle schools from using mobile phones, a policy most Ghanaians have accepted.
In a bid to clear the air, Mr. Haffar speaking at the 2nd edition of Mfantsipim Old Boys Association’s (MOBA) annual engagement series, said his earlier suggestion was an approach to facilitate e-learning in our educational system.
He added that, a country like the United States has been using electronic learning materials for decades now hence, sees no wrong in trying to suggest it to his country.
“I don’t want to be a hypocrite, I used to teach computers in the United States in the 1980’s and then I come to my own country and I am supposed to be a hypocrite and say that as for us we can’t use those things. Whether we like it or not, we are beginning to accept e-learning. Last week, I was with a community, and these are people who have never been to school before but even they who have never been to school before are interested in getting on the digital platform,” he noted.
