Get your Pokemon out of our schools, say Hong Kong teachers
Education bosses to speak to game’s developer about concerns over student safety
Schools bosses said on Friday they would ask the makers of Pokemon Go not to put any of the game’s virtual creatures inside campuses and in nearby areas to avoid affecting pupils’ education.
That followed an appeal from the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers to protect children from the dangers of playing the game around school.
Since it was released on Monday, the augmented reality smartphone game has taken the city by storm. Players use their phones’ GPS and camera to hunt for virtual Pokemon – short for Pocket Monsters – at different locations in the real world.
On Friday afternoon the Post found Pokemon inside two schools in Tsuen Wan and five outside a primary school in Sha Tin, using the website Pokevision, which displays real-time Pokemon locations using data intercepted from the game’s servers.
“Don’t put Pokemon inside schools,” urged Eddie Ting Kong-ho, a director at the federation and a district councillor. The federation said the presence of Pokemon could threaten students, if the Pokemon-hunting public were to go inside the school, or if students stayed on campus after class to play the game.
