Schools are punishing students who are critical of teachers in their online bloggers. The students have their right to voice their views, in case the facts are wrong, its better for the teachers to listen and talk. Surely, not punish or charged them. The schools are making the students "shut-up" and that critical opinions are not welcome. How could they grow-up to be creative, responsible and participate in policy making! Its important the teachers and students know and respect the CRC - the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
SINGAPORE schools have begun a clampdown on students who insult teachers in online journals by punishing them with suspensions,a newspaper reported on Tuesday, Sept 27.
In August, five junior college students who posted derogatory remarks about their teachers and vice-principal on their blogs, or online journals, were suspended for three days, the Straits Times reported.
Seven secondary schools and two junior colleges have also got tough on penalised students for making offensive remarks about teachers on blogs: one secondary school student who called a teacher a "prude" and a "frustrated old spinster" on her blog was ordered to remove the remarks.
Blogging, writing in online journals, has become huge popular among the young in tech-savvy Singapore, where over 65 percent of the city-state's 4.2 million people are wired to the Internet.
But with libellous blogs emerging as a hot legal issue, one has to be careful with what is written.
In May, a Singapore student shut down his blog after a government agency threatened to sue for what it said were untrue and serious accusations.
In September, three ethnic Chinese bloggers were charged in court under Singapore's sedition laws for making racial slurs against the Malay community on their weblogs.
Lawyers say students could be sued for defamation, even if a teacher was not named.
"As long as someone is able to identify the teacher, and it is an untrue statement that affects his reputation or livelihood, then the student is liable," lawyer Doris Chia of Harry Elias and Partners was quoted as saying in the Straits Times.
An injunction can be taken to get the student to remove the blog and issue an apology, she said.
Sources and Relevant Links:
Reuters Schools punish cheeky student bloggers 27 September 2005
Think Centre Rights of the Child: Valuing Children, Respecting Children The Convention on the Rights of the Child [CRC] provides the legal framework for basic human rights that children verywhere,without discrimination, have.
