I never thought I would say this, but studying in a private university has finally paid off because we are not the victims of the cell phone ban.This wasn’t the best decision made by the government of Tamil Nadu because smart phones have become an integral part of a student’s life. How are students to share notes, access university portals online, get informed about where and when their next class is in case of any switch, know where their faculty are, check if the administrative blocks are functioning and even simply find their way around the campus? Cell phones are definitely a lifeline to the outside world and banning them is almost foolish! Students will have a hard time commuting due to lack of communication with their drivers and no information in case of road blocks.
While it is definitely at the discretion of the teacher to allow or disallow mobiles in classrooms, a blanket ban on its use is definitely retrograde. The reasons for imposing the ban, such as inappropriate filming of women students and malpractice in exams, must be addressed through other punitive measures and not by banning of phones. The benefits of mobiles far outweigh any harms associated with its usage. What is also dubious about the ban is the exemption of central institutions in Tamil Nadu such as IIT Madras due to the ‘knowledge of students there to use phones reasonably’. Is this based on a presumption that students from other institutions do not know how to use phones reasonably? The policy lacks sound reasoning and one can expect considerable backlash from both students and teachers.
The advertising brochure of my college proudly talks about the Wi-Fi enabled campus. However, a prohibition of smart phones inside it seems quite contradictory. One of the principle points raised against mobile phones is that the device would be misleading, diverting and a disturbance in class. Smart phones aren’t that bad. Sharing through a less time consuming means would beat the conventional time taken and definitely help students.
Every coin has two sides, and mobile phones too are a boon and a bane. It depends on how we make use of it. While there are tremendous advantages, there are just as many drawbacks. When mobile phones have a constitutive role in today’s world, it is irrational to ask students not to use them. Reasonable restrictions are understandable, for reasons such as causing disturbances inside classrooms or to other students. If college students are seen as adults, then it is only fair that we are treated as such and are trusted that we know how to use mobile phones reasonably. At the same time, we as students also need to be more responsible when it comes to how we use our mobile phones. After all it is ‘you’ and ‘I’ who decide what the pros and cons of it are.
