Stop teaching children how to spell because smartphones can do it for them, says academic in attack on traditional teaching A Newcastle University professor says spelling lessons were relevant 100 years ago Professor Sugata Mitra said youngsters should be encouraged to rely on technology instead Spelling lessons should be scrapped because children can correct mistakes on their mobile phone or computer, a university professor has claimed. Sugata Mitra, professor of educational technology at Newcastle University, said that good grammar was necessary 'maybe 100 years ago' but 'not right now'. He said that traditional spelling classes are unnecessary when students have constant access to state-of-the-art technology. Obsolete: A university professor has said that there is no place in schools for spelling and grammar lessons Professor Mitra said that pupils should be encouraged not to rely on linguistic rules but to try and express themselves in new ways such as using mobile phone text messaging. The professor spoke out as the Government introduces a drive aimed at improving educational standards that will see pupils tested on spelling 200 complex words by the end of primary school. Alternative: Professor Mitra has said that youngsters should be encouraged to communicate in other ways such as via text messaging A separate test in spelling, punctuation and grammar was introduced in England for 11-year-olds this year. GCSE students have also been told that they will be docked marks in exams if they do not use accurate English. Professor Mitra said in an interview with the Times that emphasising spelling and grammar in the classroom is: 'a bit unnecessary because they are skills that were very essential maybe 100 years ago but they are not right now. 'Firstly, my phone corrects my spelling so I don't really need to think about it and, secondly, because I often skip grammar and write in a cryptic way.' The professor won the $1million TED Prize to create 'cloud schools' where children learn from each other and retired experts. Despite his claims, the National Association for the Teaching of English, defended teaching correct grammar in schools. Joe Walsh said that electronic devices 'cannot think for you'.