June 27, 2007
Mobile phones 'offensive weapons'
A UK teaching union is calling for mobile phones to be classed as potentially offensive weapons, reports the BBC.
"NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said the way pupils misused them to bully their teachers meant they should be banned from school premises.
Ms Keates is raising the issue of mobiles with ministers at a task force meeting on Tuesday.
She is particularly concerned about websites such as ratemyteacher and bebo which, she says, provide a vehicle for false allegations and abuse by pupils which can damage teachers' self esteem and careers.
She said: "These sites are fed by pupils' misuse of mobile phones. The time has come for mobiles in schools to be placed in the category of a potentially offensive weapon and action taken to prevent their use by pupils while on school premises. "
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