Hyderabad, January 17: P Ajay (13), a student of a leading school in the city, knows how to exactly sit through his boring history class.
He and his classmates indulge in fun messaging and sometimes also share photos through their high-end mobile phones.
In another case, 9th grader S Vishwesh, always prefers sitting in the last bench. The reason- fiddling with his favourite I-pod.
“Whenever I’m off the teacher’s sight during class or in free time, I hear my favourite songs and see videos. I can’t spend a moment without my I-pod,” he quips.
Gone are the days when school students’ favourite activity inside classrooms were pen fights, chatting, passing chits or throwing chalks.
Now with mobile phones and other electronic gadgets readily available, they don’t have to try too hard for entertainment.
“In my school, students as young as 11 or 12 use mobile phones. Many of them speak or message whenever they get time during school hours. It is very common for students to sport mobile phones and I-pods,” K Sumona, a class X student says.
She added that though the school management had warned against usage of electronic gadgets and mobile phones inside classes, it didn’t help much.
Most city schools have banned use of cell phones inside the school but it does not seem to deter students.
A teacher of an international school, on condition of anonymity, reveals, “Once we conducted checks and to our surprise found that almost every student brought expensive mobile phones. We confiscated them and other gadgets and complained to their parents. But parents brought pressure on the management to allow their wards to have mobile phones so they could have access to their wards.”
However, M Shailaja Rao, principal, Future Kids School, feels educating children on right usage of things helps a lot.
“Today’s students are gizmo-age kids and it cannot be overlooked. The best way is to counsel them on the right way and time to use these gadgets. We have done it and explained the implications of their actions. I can confidently say my students do not use any of these gadgets in school.”
A consultant psychiatrist with Apollo Hospitals, Minhaz Naserabadi says, “Firstly, electronic gadgets are a distraction for school children. Secondly, there is every chance they can be misused. For instance, mobile phones can be used as calculators.”
He also says the radiation from these gadgets or mobile phones can affect body cells and the brain, which are at a developing stage in minors.
–Agencies