John Paul College Principal Patrick Walsh was keen to see the ministry work with internet providers and internet safety body NetSafe to improve students' safety. Photo / Andrew Warner
School principals want the ability to search the contents of students' phones and tablets to be able to delete malicious or intimate images in a bid to combat cyber bullying.
New rules for searching school students suspected of carrying harmful items including weapons or drugs are useful but teachers need
greater powers to combat cyber bullying, John Paul College principal Patrick Walsh said.
Mr Walsh said while they could currently confiscate the devices, they could not search the contents. He said they were losing the small window of opportunity to delete malicious or intimate images of students before images were uploaded to the internet by an offending student.
Education representatives were meeting with the Education Ministry this week to discuss how the rules would affect electronic devices, which could be used for cyber bullying, he said.
Mr Walsh said most schools were rightly embracing the use of bring-your-own electronic devices to promote student learning, but there was a "dark side".
