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Ban is welcome but parents have to exercise greater degree of control

It is better to ban mobile phones on school campuses especially the ones with cameras. Schools in the city realise this and have banned mobile phones already. We should try sensitising students as to why they are restricted from using mobile phones in schools. But there are instances when students disregard the rules. On such occasions, the phone must be confiscated and parents should be informed. Ban on mobile phones in school premises helps minimise students calling each other during class hours, circulation of obscene pictures and messages among students.

Sreeni K.R.

Chalakudy

Mobile phones have become an indispensable part of human life.

If students have started using mobile phones, there is nothing alarming in it. I think restrictions should be made flexible and no blanket ban would help the cause.

I think misusing of mobile phones must be stopped but students should not be stopped from using them in emergency situations. Recently a six-year-old child lost herself in a busy railway station while her mother was standing in the queue to buy tickets. The child was smart enough to call her father using the mobile phone. Let us not always project the negative aspects. Rules must be enforced but children should not be threatened.

Aiswarya Chandran

Changanasserry

I think mobile phones aren’t a necessity for school children. No doubt if children have mobile phones with them, parents can always contact them or they can contact their parents. But nowadays these phones have become toys in the hands of school-going children. For the well-being of our children, it would be better to have control over the use of mobile phones by children not just in schools but also outside. I don’t advocate a ban but the use of mobile phones by children should be supervised.

R.K. Kuzhikatt

Thrissur

One must admit that mobile phones have little use in the hands of school children and the chances of misuse are greater. It is better to educate children about the misuse of mobile phones than enforce a ban on their use.

M. Ramankutty

Thripunithura

It is right on the part of the government to impose a ban on the use of mobile phones by school children in campuses.

Today mobile phones have become a necessity of life.

But a technology is safe only as long as it is sensible and is in responsible hands.

It becomes a dangerous tool and a social evil once it reaches the wrong hands.

The case of mobile phone is no different.

The restriction should begin from the home itself. Teachers at school should ask parents not to give mobile phones to children. School authorities should sensitise parents about the distracting nature of these gadgets.

Akhila

Ernakulam

The decision of the State government to ban mobile phones on school campuses is laudable. But to what extent will the ban be enforced? It is an indisputable fact that school children have no need for mobile phones inside the safe parameters of a school campus. These gadgets have become a bane for educational institutions.

The best way to address the issue is to ask the students to hand over their mobile phones to the authorities before entering the class. The students can have their phones when they leave for home.

Shahnaz M. Thahir

Edappally

The use of mobile phones by students in school campuses should be discouraged. When students are in school they should not have any other disturbance. At any rate, students in their adolescent period should be discouraged from using mobile phones.

Davis Vithayathil

Thripunithura

. The mobile phone is a revolutionary invention. But its extensive use can have an adverse impact on the health of the user. The government order to disallow mobile phones by students on the campuses of schools is understandable. However, considering the fact that mobile phones may come handy at a difficult time, possession of a mobile phone will be a blessing.

So a special ‘pigeon hole’ may be provided for depositing the mobiles. The students may collect the mobiles at the end of the day at the school. Absence of any such measure will tempt students to indulge in breaking of rules.

Ambalath Aboobakar

Pavaratty

This issue is relevant only to elite schools having affluent students. Apparently, it is only the use of mobile phones in the classroom and campus that is disallowed, not their being carried around.

Preventing usage is as easy as asking for phones to be switched off, something not very difficult in any environment where discipline prevails.

Any such school should be in a position to have a suitable monitoring arrangement working, which, in fact, does work effectively in many cases.

The negative aspects of usage, and of what students do outside school, are for parents to take care of. So regulation should begin at home.

Devraj Sambasivan

Alappuzha

Most students think that having a mobile is a fashion statement. Education without discipline is a waste.

Being a faculty member in a college of nursing, we too face many problems. But ultimately parents should check the misuse of mobile phones by children.

I would suggest the authorities enforce the restriction of using mobile phones by joining hands with parents.

Senthilkumar. T

Nadathara

I am an 8th standard student in a CBSE School. I welcome the order of the government ban on use of mobile phones in the educational institutions. It is a welcome step because the mobile phone and mobile camera is a disturbance in the schools. Students go to school, to study well, not to speak over phones and take photographs.

Sreelakshmi Sankar

Ernakulam

Misuse of mobile phones is a threat to human life. Unbridled indulgence in its use on school campuses and hospital premises is unethical. Nevertheless, the cell phone is no less useful in critical circumstances.

It is handy during emergencies.

As any system or gadget, the cell phone too has merits and demerits, especially in these days of abduction, child abuse and campus violence. Cell phones must be allowed on the school campus under effective supervision.

N. Sadasivan Pillai

Camp: Modinabad

The move to ban mobile phones in school premises is a welcome one. However, the question remains on how far it can be achieved. It is clear that each family member carries one or more mobile phones. People are addicted to it. Teenagers are the most affected. Teachers should check the misuse of mobile phones in schools.

They themselves should not use them in classrooms.

Jancy Antony

Kanjany

The use of mobile phone should be strictly prohibited from the school campuses. The children in the school need some calm and peaceful atmosphere for proper learning. The use of mobile phones distracts their concentration, and this adversely affects their learning process.

Phones with camera can be easily misused. The government should lose no time in implementing this restriction.

Sreenath S.K.

Kulathoor-Prayar

The multinational companies, with their enticing ads, always try to attract teenagers and children. A student committed suicide after he was caught by his teacher while taking obscene photographs using a mobile camera. However, the mobile phones are useful for students especially for the safety of girls.

Sandra V.

Eravimangalam

Excessive use of mobile phones is bad for everyone, particularly children. The decision to ban mobiles is welcome. The teachers and the school authorities are there to assist the children if there is any emergency. The use of mobile phones in school premises will lead to distraction.

Mary Joshy

Kalathipady

The government order to ban mobile phones in campuses will help parents to bail out children from rampant use of mobile phones. Many government orders have failed to take off. Let us hope that the fate of this order takes a different turn.

I think mobile phones have more ill-effects than virtues. The implementation of the order depends on the efficiency of the administration. The head of the institution should monitor students and seize mobile phones. If possible fines should be introduced.

But it is imperative that an alternative means of communication is set up in schools.

Sasi. K

Cheroor

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