“No more texting mommy from school”. This was the headline of a report early January in a leading newspaper. To be more precise it meant ban on mobile phones…I know haven’t we talked about it umpteenth times? Yes we have but like all other problems choking us up as a nation, ‘ban on mobile phones’ happens to be one of the lighter arguments we can afford with a smile on our faces. Let me also make it clear that it is only the ban in educational institutes that we are talking about. This is the latest ban, came about at the start of 2012. And I thought there were other worries than this, like the world coming to an end!
When I started my bachelors a few years back in one of the renowned colleges in the city and my parents bought me my first ever cell phone, it was the day that mobile phones got banned in my college. Thanks to two groups of girls who had an overwhelming cat fight while the ‘crowd’ made videos of it; that were later uploaded on the good old youtube for the world to witness public display of humiliation for the prestigious institute. Alas that was the temporary end to the naïve students (read: like me) who had to keep their gadgets a secret while roaming in the vicinity of the college.
It was indeed a difficult feat for almost the entire college. Some of the more naïve students and friends even stopped bringing their expensive gadgets with them, while the lesser obedient ones dared to safeguard their inseparable phones inside their bags. In this way everyone was happy, the students, the college administration and the cell phone companies. Majority was using the technology like a secret lover with that innocent expression on their faces for the teachers to believe that mobile phones did not exist, at least not around the disciplined college.
In the course of time, the girls got dexterous in texting and listening to music from their ‘evil’ spreading cell phones without even looking at them. During the lectures, seminars and even when the teachers weren’t around, use of mobile phones was clogging up the air, just that the teachers didn’t know.
However, that wasn’t to last long. Soon the teachers did realize that there was something clever going on during class lectures with girls either keeping their hands inside their bags or under their chaddars or if they happen to be back benchers, the tools of rebellion were hidden behind chairs. With this knowledge also came the realization that even though there was no mode of communication, some of the students were going to secret tryst with their Romeos much the same right after college hours. Horrors of horrors!
What was happening in one of our neighbouring institutes was worse than our situation. There was a moment’s respite and gratefulness that our privacy was not at threat as the ‘others’. This other university’s administration was applying its iron rule. They went as far as checking the students’ bags and socks for signs of rule breaking. This was hacking the privacy of personal belongings in addition to crossing the boundary of one’s personal space off guard!
With time, however, the college authorities perhaps realized that it is impossible to ‘tame’ the girls according to their rules especially about the new gadgets. Let it be they thought. Hence the brouhaha about this entire problem was soon forgotten and teachers made peace with the fact that its only a harmless gadget after all.
This year the fanatic wave hit the educational institutes once again! The students are unhappy once again and the teachers angry again. There was a full page report on this ‘issue’ last week in the newspaper with the raving students against the ban of course and the teachers in favour of it.
One of the teachers said “Colleges and universities always have the facility of a PCO so I fail to understand why parents buy cell phones for the children in the first place. We didn’t have cell phones when we were young”
The first half of the statement made sense. But the second, I say what? When our parents were young there were no cell phones at all!
What is the solution to this highly imperative issue at hand? Or is it really that big a problem as we are made to perceive? The gadget is infamous for making love birds out of young people; it is blamed for a tool used for cheating. It is accused of making rebels out of the youth; it is nothing but a sheer source of distraction to students during class hours. Hmm well true to some extent but it’s the same all over the world, it’s not that only the Pakistani students are being sent the wrong way, the Jewish conspiracy of course.
Come to think of it, before the evil monger mobile phones existed, love affairs painted the town red, students cheated in exams through the genius little slips called ‘bootiyan’, youth has always been a rebel, nothing new about any of the above. I bet the schools in Stone Age too had the same complaints about students/youth (any episode of Flintstones of that sort?)
Unfortunately there are no food for thought or good lessons in this post. Though as students we need to ponder over what is good and healthy for us. As for teachers and authority figures they need to reflect back into their younger, greener days and take a deep breath! All’s good, especially with ‘wrong number say piyar hoa’ love birds are around (anyone remember ‘Telephone’ ,the cheesy song that Fareeha Pervaz came out with back in the 90s about falling in love on a wrong number and that too through landline?) 
Quoting one of the students remark on the ban said ‘Are they crazy? We are old enough to know what is good or bad for us. If our parents do not have a problem, why is the government interfering?’ Hmm well it does make sense,right?
