There have been some wonderful advances in technology in recent years, affecting the everyday lives of all of us. Unfortunately the human ability to spot any detrimental consequences of this rush to do things faster and more conveniently is lagging behind. We are in so much of a hurry to praise the advantages that we risk becoming blinded to the negative effects such technology can have when it is abused.

Clearly the potential problems identified by some teachers over the use of mobile telephones by some pupils on school premises has crept up on those establishments which did not decide, from the very outset, to ban them outright.

Many readers may be surprised to learn that there are schools which allow this sort of equipment to be used by children on the premises (although many others don't). Against that, it can be argued that a mobile phone properly used can be a valuable safety aid, particularly for parents with complicated child-minding arrangements who might need to contact their offspring at the end of the school day. But that should not stop schools from banning their use for anything other than emergency purposes.

If children do need to bring mobile phones to school for safety reasons, they should be banned from having them switched on while they are on the premises and should, indeed, keep them in their bags or lockers during school hours.

Schools which have not already thought through such policies and allow the blatant and open use of mobiles are bringing any problems on their own heads.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.