Theft, puppy love and distractions luring students away from hitting the books are to blame for the crackdown on mobile phones in many middle and elementary schools in the port city of Northeast China's Liaoning Province.

When the new semester began this month, many schools have forbidden students from bringing mobile phones to class as required by new school regulations.

The 21st Junior High School president Li Yi said their problems began as more students took mobile phones to school.

For example, their studies would be disrupted by students sending short messages in class.

"And they try to keep up with the Joneses," Li said, adding that the convenience of communication also increases the incidence of puppy love among students.

Cases of mobile phone theft and students being beaten during the robbery were also reported.

For some parents, mobile phones were a cause for concern.

Chen Jirong bought a mobile phone for her daughter when she was in Junior Two, but since the second term of Senior Two, the mother had stopped paying fees in a bid to make her daughter concentrate on preparing for the upcoming college entrance examinations.

"I am in favor of the school's regulation," she said. "Nowadays, many SMS content are not that healthy and sending those (messages) between classmates would do harm to the teenagers and distract them from study."

Besides, they would be addicted to mobile phone games, she added.

Some parents, however, are still not convinced and do not support the school regulation.

Worried parents insist that without a cellphone, it's not convenient to communicate with their children at any time.

But measures to alleviate the concerns of parents in the 21st School seemed to be working.

Zhang Yuyan, director of moral education at the school, said a public card phone has been installed on each floor of the building, making it easy for students to get in touch with their parents.

Liang Jiangjun, an English teacher with Gezhi Junior High School, said that although the school has no specific rules prohibiting students from bringing cellphones, they do not encourage them to do so either.

Only about one-fourth to one-fifth of the students own mobile phones and most of them only use the basic function of communication, he said.

What's more, most of them consciously turn off their phones in class, Liang said.

(China Daily September 20, 2005)