Came online after a long break to hear the news that one of the leading girl’s schools in Colombo, Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya has banned Facebook! Sahithya.lk, the web portal of Royal College Sinhala Language and Literary Unit, which also runs a very active facebook page, reports that the principal has asked Sirimavo students to deactivate their accounts and warned that those who still maintain accounts on Facebook will be expelled from school. From what she has said it is apparent that she hopes to safeguard the “reputation” of the school by preventing students from getting exposed to “improper activities” conducted on Facebook. (Read more in Sinhala)

It is noteworthy that this ban takes place in a context in which a significant number of schools in Sri Lanka are opening up to the benefits and new possibilities of the world wide web, including social networking sites and other web2.0 tools such as blogging. Royal College, being the most outstanding exponent of this trend, recently announced a blogging competition as a part of their annual literary festival; and their constructive use of Facebook in publicizing and coordinating this event is widely admired.

However, Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya has different plans.

Ironically enough, the most recent “completed project” of the school is ”Establishing a security camera system (CCTV)” :D

I wonder how does the principal plan to monitor the activities of her students on Facebook from now on…

In addition to Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya, Facebook has been blocked or banned in several places around the globe including Syria and Iran :D

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