Ban On Mobile Phones Below 16 Okay But Why Elections To Students Unions, VCs Tell Chief Minister

BENGALURU: Vice-Chancellors of various Universities of Karnataka express their reservations to conduct of elections to Students Unions in Colleges and Universities an idea envisaged by the State Government while welcomed the decision of the State Government to initiate steps to ban usage of mobile phones by students below-16 years in schools.

Imposing a ban on use of mobile phones by students below 16 years is under serious consideration by the State Government, said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and wanted Vice-Chancellors to come out with their opinions over the idea of banning mobile phones among the students to help the State Government to arrive at a suitable decision in coming days.

Speaking at a conference of Vice-Chancellors in Bengaluru on Saturday, The Chief Minister said it has been observed that many students have been addicted to social media with their mobile phones which resulted in ruining their careers/future. He pointed to the ban on use of mobile phones by students in Australia and some European countries.

While VCs welcomed the ban on usage of mobile phones in schools, one of the Vice-Chancellors wanted Siddaramaiah to look into “Parents allow their children to carry mobile phones to schools over their safety.”

The Vice-Chancellors in unison told the Chief Minister, the elections to Students Unions were not needed. One of the Vice-Chancellor brought to the notice of the Chief Minister, conducting elections to the Students Union resulted in waste of time for canvassing and later on celebrations and in a semester it would consume a lot of time. Another stated “It will result in political party backed elections.”

But, the Chief Minister said “Nowadays, there are no students’ leaders” and recalled “When I studied I actively participated in Students Unions and grew in politics.”