Some Bay of Plenty principals are supporting the Ministry of Education's push to give teachers the right to search and seize student's cell phones and iPads if they suspect the device is being used for cyber bullying.

Some Bay of Plenty principals are supporting the right to seize student's cell phones if it is suspected in cyber bullying.

In an attempt to strongly combat cyber bullying in schools, principals are backing the proposed changes in the Education Amendment Bill allowing teachers the right to confiscate internet capable devices owned by students to find evidence of bullying in text messages, photographs or online.

Mount Maunganui College Principal Russell Gordon says the college has a zero tolerance for bullying and is already implementing the rule.

'Actions have consequences and we need to teach this fact of life to our students.

'If there are issues of bullying involving internet capable devices then we use saved texts from the recipients in order to undertake an investigation into the issue.”

However, Russell says bullying is more evident through hurtful comments posted on the social networking site Facebook and typically it occurs outside of school hours.

'This being the case, I am in favour of declining internet access to any student who uses their internet access inappropriately, and, when justified, student cell phones should also be confiscated.”

In order to find evidence of text bullying, Russell believes it is more appropriate for a parent or caregiver to be present so the issue can be resolved straight away.

'If an incidence of bullying is perpetrated from home, which is often the case in electronic bullying, then this is where parents or caregivers need to become involved and take appropriate action.”

Otumoetai College principal Dave Randell is also backing the proposed changes to the bill.

Dave says when texting and using social networking sites to communicate, sometimes, messages can be wrongly interpreted as bullying.

'One of the things is getting the message across. Texting is so impersonal and messages can get mixed up. You can have connotations in your message that you didn't really mean to do.

'You can either do a like or a dislike (on Facebook) and it can be interpreted in different ways.

'But again, any form of interpretation of bullying is unwarranted and I think the consequences we try at schools do the best we can.”

Dave says he was surprised to read in an article that 93 per cent of all secondary and university students check their Facebook page at least once a day.

'It's a matter of trying to get young people to use it appropriately. We've been trying to get the message across to kids to be responsible for your own actions and just be prudent of what you're doing.

'My key message is parents should be aware. It's not a matter of checking or not trusting it's a matter of communicating with your youngsters.

'It's something that helps control it because some of the stuff happens out of school.”

Each year Otumoetai College holds a Pink Shirt Day where the students wear pink to promote anti-bullying.

However Tauranga Girls' College Principal says confiscation seems to be a more punishing strategy than a learning one.

'Certainly taking the phone, iPad, whatever, stops the immediate access but then if you take a phone away from one teenager it is most likely that they will immediately be able to access another that their friend has.

'It is the inappropriate use of any tool for learning that needs to be addressed at the motive level, focussing not on just the tools but on the relationships.

'Educating and role modelling for students positive ways in which to interact with each other is likely to be far more effective than just taking internet accessible devices away.

'In and out of school the responsibility falls to both parents and teachers to ensure that these devices do not intrude into, and detrimentally affect, normal relationships.”

Online watchdog Netsafe says one in five New Zealand secondary school students have experienced some form of cyber bullying.