Calls for strict parental oversight amidst online challenges

SHAH ALAM - Strict supervision by parents and educators is crucial to curb the widespread issue of children accessing pornographic content on the internet.

National Union of Teachers in the Service of Malaysian Education (Congress) President Jasni Md Kechik stressed that, as a country moving towards digitisation, it is challenging to restrict the use of phones among children completely.

He said that if children are barred from using electronic devices, it indirectly hampers their ability to explore the world of technology.

"I was shocked by the revelation of a teacher about a seven-year-old student who exhibited lewd behavior in the classroom.

"The use of smartphones cannot be denied to have negative implications for their social development without strict supervision from parents," he told Sinar yesterday.

Earlier, a school teacher uploaded a post on Facebook exposing a first-grade student engaging in inappropriate behaviour in class.

In the post, he revealed that the child had watched the indecent act on YouTube.

According to him, teacher complaints have been filed, and parents are urged to take the issue seriously by restricting and monitoring the use of smartphones at home.

Jasni further commented that if parents remain indifferent to the problems raised by teachers, it will damage children's moral values and social development.

"If we want to prevent this problem from becoming more widespread, stakeholders such as the Communication and Digital Ministries must work together to find solutions to block all forms of pornographic material.

"The key system approach to preventing children from accessing such content is no longer effective because some parents may forget to lock it again after using the site," he said.

Therefore, he suggested that the relevant ministries provide a web-based application that can be used by students for educational purposes.