The Jawaharlal Nehru Engineering College (JNEC) has installed a mobile phone jammer
on its premises
The Jawaharlal Nehru Engineering College (JNEC) has installed
a mobile phone jammer on its premises, a move that has not gone down well with students.
While college authorities say the measure will enable students to concentrate on
their studies as well as prevent misuse during examinations, the students say it
is completely uncalled for. The college has student strength of 3500, in about 10
different engineering branches. Speaking to TOI on Monday (19th Dec), college principal Sudheer
Deshmukh said that the management had observed that students were concentrating
more on their mobile phones than on their studies, and so had decided to introduce
the mobile phone jammer on a trial basis.
The jammer blocks a 50-meter radius range and has provided the desired results.
We are considering increasing the scope of the jammers at different places across
75 acres of the campus, said Deshmukh. However, we have to be selective about the
places as we do not want the hospital or other facilities to fall within the range
of the jammer, he added. He said mobile phones were not allowed in the classroom,
particularly during examinations. Despite this, some students did manage to sneak
in their phones and use them. He pointed out that some students had been found sending
SMS and MMS messages or even chatting on their phones, while classes were in progress.
We have decided to introduce the jamming machine, said Deshmukh. Whenever we questioned
students who carried their mobile phones to class, they always had an excuse ready.
Perhaps we are the only college in Aurangabad to install a jammer in the larger
interest of our students, Deshmukh said.
Students of the college, who did not want to be named, called the decision atrocious.
The study schedule is so tight, who gets the time to be playful on a mobile phone
one said. Many of us come from outside Aurangabad and need to be in touch with our
people. Now, we will not be able to stay in touch with our families in case of an
emergency, said another student. They insisted they were not as mobile phone crazy
as the college was making them out to be.
Courtesy: Times of India
