Minister for Education Rosy Akbar

More consultation is needed before re-introducing the Social Media Policy into the school system.

The Minister for Education Rosy Akbar clarified the policy remains on hold pending a review.

Akbar says when it was first implemented a number of issues were experienced.

“The policy team is still working on to that but at the end of the day we should understand the real reason why the policy was sort of made and implemented and that is to protect both the student and the teachers as well, unfortunately, it was taken in a very wrong line so we intend to bring it back but with more consultation from the public because it affects the parents as well, it affects the students, it affects the teachers as well, so once we complete that I think we should be able to bring it back so that it has a more positive impact.”

A major backlash was concerns from parents regarding the professional relationships they had with their child’s teacher.

The policy ruled that teachers cannot be friends with their student and their parents on any social media sites.

The Minister says once reviewed, the policy will continue aiming at protecting both teachers, students and the parents of their students.