A lesson for school teachers on carrying mobiles in classrooms

CHANDIGARH, AUG 3

Working as a teacher in a government school in Haryana, better think twice before taking your mobile to the class-room! Should you feel the need to use it as an academic aide for academic pursuits, better take prior permission! And if you happen to head the institution, take care that neither you nor your teachers indulge in this fancy. For, fresh guidelines issued by the Haryana Education Department may put you in the dock.

      Outlining the guidelines issued by the Haryana Education Department to curb the use of mobile phones in schools, an official spokesman said here today that henceforth, no teacher shall take mobile phone to the classroom. It shall be kept stashed away in the staff room or in an area earmarked by the head of school. The person head of school may like to make in charge of custody of cell phones may be head of school room, staff room, clerk or any other employee.

            If for some unavoidable reasons, mobile phone is required to be taken to the class-room for academic use by a teacher prior permission should be taken from the head of school for reasons to be recorded in a register to be maintained for this purpose, the spokesman said.

          To facilitate any emergency communication about teachers, it shall be ensured that the head of school makes available two contact numbers to all teachers. These two phone numbers for emergency call can be that of head of school, the second senior most in-charge of the school, or clerk, or any other arrangement deemed fit by the head of school, say the guidelines.

        Use of mobile phone during non-class hours shall be confined to the area removed from the classes. The students should be saved from the disturbance of external influence of mobile phones.

        The parameter of class presence without mobile phones applies to head of school also. All inspecting officers, whether on regular inspection or surprise inspections, shall check whether compliance of these instructions is being made meticulously or not.

          The spokesman said that in case of any violation, action against the head of school shall be proposed by the inspecting officer. If any substantive complaint is received from any other person like students or general public that the guidelines are being violated on any campus, the head of school shall be held squarely accountable, he added.

         The guidelines stem from the observation that many teachers take mobile phones to class-rooms during teaching hours for personal, not professional, use. This amounts to misusing and diverting teaching hours to other purposes which are unproductive and do not in any way contribute to academic improvement of schools. This has to be checked.

             Mobile phone has recently emerged as the single gadget which has started consuming class time of some teachers. Social media or other entertainment scopes of mobiles hardly contribute anything towards the syllabus which is to be taught to the students on the school campus.

          There may be sporadic creative instances where a teacher may want to use a mobile phone for creative academic purposes. Yet, if in the name of rare creativity a no-holds-barred situation is allowed on the campuses, undesirable consequences are bound to arise, the spokesman added.

===balbirsingh227@gmail.com