The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Pass rates up by 25% `after cell phone ban'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 18, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Pass rates up by 25% `after cell phone ban'

Staff Reporter

Anna University Vice-Chancellor wants all campuses to be rid of mobile phones

CHENNAI : The pass percentage went up by a startling 25 per cent after Anna University banned cell phones on campus two years ago, its Vice Chancellor D. Viswanathan said on Thursday, arguing for a total ban on mobile phones on campuses.

Inaugurating the 39th World Telecommunication and Information Society Day organised by the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers, Chennai Centre, he said employability of the graduates had also gone up by 30 per cent after the ban.

On the whole, the ban had evoked good response as well as results from students, he added.

Mr. Viswanathan said cell phones were a source of disturbance not only for students, but youth in general.

Youngsters driving or walking on busy roads talking on their phones ran the risk of getting involved in serious accidents, he pointed out.

Elaborating on the 2007 theme, `Connecting the Young: The Opportunities of ICT', Mr. Viswanathan noted that the availability of ICT infrastructure was not evenly distributed and the digital divide had produced a knowledge gap between the `information rich' and the `information poor,' between urban and rural people and in some societies between men and women.

He called upon policymakers and industry leaders to develop technologies and applications that would take the digital revolution to people in the remote regions of the country.

The general manager (central) Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), Chennai Telephones, N. Poonguzhali while noting that youngsters were the most active subscribers of ICT media also highlighted the flip side of an excessive dependence on technology.

Health impacts

The health impacts of technology abuse ranged from sore wrists to the phenomenon of Repetitive Strain Injuries (from too much text messaging), she said.

The BSNL, she said, was geared to undertake the engineering challenge of broadbasing the technology mix of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) and DSPT (Digital Satellite Phone Terminal).

Chief engineer AIR and Doordarshan S. Ramaswamy said the television and radio media had broadened avenues for talented youth. FM radio had scope for innovation he added, pointing to the experimental success of an all-girl station in Sydney.

Jobs in TV industry

Mr. Ramaswamy said the television industry was projected to generate around 10 lakh job openings in the next few years.

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