Well, have you heard the news about the C. B. S. E. wanting a ban on the use of mobiles in schools? The use of mobiles in educational institutes is perhaps one of the most discussed and debated topics... Whats new about this one?
Well, on the part of the kid.. He may say that its an essential gadget, helps keep in touch, etc etc.. (although schools are meant for study alone, you can argue!) Well, I hardly ever used a mobile at school if I remember right (back then, it was the black and white ones, then a few ones with 4k colours) And only few guys had mobs, and a cell would've been more handy had it been more common. The thing is that the mobile revolution was just starting (or just started) back then.
Come college life - staying away from home, a mob was a prerequisite to living at hostel... At first, no one never really took mobs to class (or didnt we?! dont recall..) partly not wanting to appear flashy in front of the seniors. But then later in the second year, the mobile "revolution" really happened... Breaks between classes were the time for loud music and sound fx (courtesy the Sony Ericsson Walkman series models and other phones like the Nokia 6233 which had atrocious decibel levels) Boring class hours were spent in browsing via GPRS, bluetooth data exchange, SMSing, misscalling, etc., etc... Only possible misuse I could agree with was the use of mobiles in the exam hall, else it was just a distraction (yes, could be described as a big distraction in a place of study ;) ) But I could not simply agree with a ban on mobiles... especially when we needed to communicate from one end of the college to another, and get essential info via GPRS. I also remember using my camera mobile as a mini photostat machine to scan and keep images of pages... so you can see how 'essential' it was to a student like me...
Anyway, coming back to our topic, whatever my views on mobile use at college, a ban at the school level would certainly be a great step forward... especially when it extends to teachers (who otherwise usually practise double-standards in the case of mobile phone use). But the thing is we have heard of countless 'bans' which are usually laws meant to be broken... effective for a week or so and then forgotten. This one seems to be a bit more serious... time will tell how effective it is.
One way of keeping the ban effective would be the use of jammers... but I dont know whether the devices are costly or not. Else, it would be quite useful in making an institution mobile-free... Else, an idea would be counters at a school's entrance where you could deposit your phones and collect it back when you leave. What ever the solution, an alternative should be provided for communication within a large campus - every department and block should be connected by a centralised network of land-phones - by which you can communicate within the campus, and parents/relatives of students/teachers can keep contact in case of emergencies.
To conclude, whatever I said earlier about how mobiles, an effective 'ban' on mobiles would really be welcome at school and even college level - after all it is a place of study ;) And remember... our moms and dads went through their schools without mobiles. Not being averse to technological advances, but the point is - 'mobile-free' study is possible.
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