Forum: Future-proof school device rules by targeting recording capabilities, rather than gadgets

The article “Police investigating video of man allegedly trailing female students while wearing smart glasses” (Sept 23) exposes a wider concern bigger than this one incident.

Cameras and AI are moving into ordinary-looking wearables, but school device rules are still largely written around phones and smart watches.

From 2026, tightened guidelines on screen use mean secondary school students must put smartphones and smart watches away during school hours. The next step should be to make the rule capability-based, rather than gadget-based.

The Ministry of Education could define a category of personal devices capable of discreet image, audio or video capture, or real-time AI processing. During school hours, such devices could be switched off and stored away unless their use is authorised for learning, medical or accessibility reasons.

Schools could also specify no-recording spaces such as changing areas, sick bays and counselling rooms, and set clear consent expectations for school events and co-curricular activities.

This would avoid two extremes. One is to wait until each new gadget creates a controversy and then add it to a growing list. The other is to ban all smart eyewear, even where a device has a legitimate accessibility use or no recording function at all.

The principle should survive changes in technology. If a personal device can capture or process other people in ways they may not readily notice, its use deserves an explicit privacy rule.

Tang Min Hui