French schools, colleges advised to ban phones if necessary

The minister said school directors should organise disciplinary councils when necessary, pointing out that one would be taking place at Edouard-Branly de Creteil school in Paris' southeastern suburbs following the fake gun incident there

French schools, colleges advised to ban phones if necessary

Representational Picture

French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer on Monday advised schools to ban the use of cellphones if their presence was creating problems. Blanquer made the recommendation following a case last week in which a 15-year-old pupil allegedly pointed a fake gun at a teacher so she would mark him present after he arrived late to class, an incident that was filmed on a phone and shared online, reports Efe news.

The minister Tweeted: I strongly condemn the acts of threat to a professor who arrived on Thursday at the E. Branly High School in Créteil.

The most stringent measures were taken immediately: complaint filed, custody to be followed by disciplinary sanctions. Solidarity with the professor

Je condamne avec fermeté les actes de menace envers un professeur advenus jeudi au lycée E. Branly de Créteil.
Les mesures les plus rigoureuses ont été prises immédiatement:plainte déposée, garde à vue qui seront suivies des sanctions disciplinaires. Solidarité avec le professeur
— Jean-Michel Blanquer (@jmblanquer) October 20, 2018

"We will restore order," the Minister told French daily Le Parisien in an interview in which he "encouraged" schools that faced "abnormal" situations to make use of a new law allowing phones to be banned, adding that last week's incident "had shown we have the right to systematize the ban on telephones at schools and colleges".

He said school directors should organise disciplinary councils when necessary, pointing out that one would be taking place at Edouard-Branly de Creteil school in Paris' southeastern suburbs following the fake gun incident there. Blanquer condemned the act and vowed that disciplinary action would be taken against the student.

The student involved was charged with aggravated violence and released pending disciplinary procedures.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels