Ban on mobile phones in SHSs should be lifted – Ursula Owusu

Communication Minister Ursula Owusu Ekuful has indicated that the ban on mobile phones in Senior High Schools should be reviewed.

According to her, allowing students access to their phones in school has greater advantages than disadvantages.

The Member of Parliament to Ablekuma West noted that the unapproved sites should be regulated to prevent the situation where students have easy access to them thereby curbing corruption and encouraging regulation.

“We should look at the ban of devices in schools but we do want the children to focus on their lessons and not be distracted. So there are ways of firewalling these devices so that it is only educational contents or browsing on approved sites which would be allowed on those devices in schools.

We are still having those conversations with the GES and the Ministry of Education to see how that will be possible.”

She is confident that by the end of 2019 the ban will be lifted so as to make educational contents more accessible and affordable to students.

“We are also working with device manufacturers to assemble some of these devices locally… but it is a plan and a project that we think its visible so that if we can assemble the devices locally we can make it more affordable and accessible to all Ghanaians so that we can have smart devices. If it is meant for schools they will be preloaded with educational contents only or access to approve sites only.”

This follows the debate on whether or not the ban on mobile phones should be lifted or not as some individuals and groups and politicians have advocated for the lifting of the ban.