3 Kolkata schools allow mobiles fuelling 'To use or Not to use' debate

A recent decision by three prominent schools in Kolkata to allow students to bring cell phones to school, has ignited a debate over whether children should be allowed to use mobile phones in school or not.

Though there are no clear-cut answers to whether the students are old enough to carry mobile phones, authorities at the Ashok Hall group of schools have set only one condition - the phones have to be in the silent mode.

Many parents feel the move reflects an acceptance of the reality that most students these days have access to mobile phones, others say the decision exposes young students to challenges they are not equipped to deal with.

"It's better they allow cell phones. Earlier there was an incident you do not know about. I feel if there was a cell phone then that incident would not have happened," said PK Gupta, a parent, speaking to NDTV.

"Children have all types of feelings. Sometimes if they see someone using a nice cell phone and they don't have it, it becomes a problem for the parents," added another parent Komal.

Dr Subharanjan Bhattacharya, whose daughter also goes to one of these schools, said, "In cases of little children they don't even know how to use cell phones and they may end up making prank calls. They may even get calls from unknown people and the child and parent may be harassed too."

Senior educationists say it is impossible to monitor how students use their cell phones and the decision will have wide ranging ramifications.

Padma Shriawardee Sister Cyril says, "They lose out on a lot of relationships and they lose out on a lot of the ordinary human intercourse which normally one would expect from school kids. Like making friends and playing sports. Many children will opt out from these activities because they have their cell phones."