News
Bullying text messages
It seems that the problems caused by bullying text messages at schools is not something exclusive to the UK
Kiwi headmasters were shocked to hear the story of Alex Teka who committed suicide after receiving a series of vicious text messages from a group of girls.
Some government ministers have called for an outright ban on mobile phones in schools and Education Minister, Steve Maharey has ordered an urgent report into text bullying.
Some schools have already imposed a blanket ban on all mobile phones but many headmasters think that this is unlikely to work. Murray Lucus, headmaster at Tawa College in Wellington, said that balancing the rights of those who used phones wisely and the need to protect pupils against bullying was tricky." He pointed out that much of the bullying occurs outside school hours.
Sylvia Burch from Hutt Valley High School (also in Wellington) said that her school had tackled text bullying by putting up 'no text bullying signs' around the school and making sure pupils knew where to go for help if they needed it.
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15 December 2006