The intermediary who proved dangerous

The shocking case of a girl student of Pragathi School and PU College in Kadugodi being shot dead by one of its own staff has once again thrown up a few tricky questions on issues of safety and security.

Where should such institutions draw the line as far as proximity of students with school staff – in this case, a mobile phone connection -- is concerned? Should they allow students to have more and frequent channels of communication with their parents or guardians? Questions such as these become even more important when we talk about residential schools and colleges.

Mahesh K, the attender who shot Gauthami K, the II PU student, had been working and living in the institution for a full two years. During this time, he had earned the full trust of not only the college management but also parents of students. The critical link: His mobile phone, used by students and parents to communicate with each other. 

“Mahesh was a very good person who would frequently go out of his way to help students and us, parents by acts like procuring medicines when students got sick and also serving as a link of communication between us and our children,” recalls the parent of a class 11 girl student studying in the school, preferring anonymity.
At the same time, there was a side to Mahesh as a strict enforcer of rules that the students had to follow.  Despite being only an office boy, he would often exceed his brief and act as the warden dictating terms and conditions to students. “We had often complained about Mahesh’s behaviour to the school but it was not really taken seriously,” says another parent.

On his part, Mahesh had easy access to all parts of the college. There was no particular restriction imposed on his movements.

Following a series of rapes in schools in the city, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) had brought in rules limiting interaction between students and non-teaching staff in schools. Although not related specifically to limiting such interactions between students and a college’s staff, Sushma Godbole, Director, PU department told Deccan Herald that a number of safety guidelines had been issued back in 2012 for colleges.

The college, according to its chairman Soma Singh, had installed 160 cameras and had never received any complaints about Mahesh. However, police investigations have revealed that the college had flouted various safety rules and also failed to perform background checks on Mahesh before hiring him.

Link between parents, students
What was the situation that brought Mahesh not only close to the students but also their parents?

While mobile phones were not allowed within the college for students, they would use an office phone to call their guardians and parents once if not a few times a week. However, with over 225 students -- both boys and girls staying separately within the institution --, this arrangement was clearly not enough.

Consequently, they had no choice but to resort to easier means like using the phone of school stafferr or lecturers. This, according to parents, was a convenient arrangement. This was also known to the college management.

“Our children would often give us missed calls on our phones from Mahesh’s phone and we would call afterwards. We had raised the issue of installing more phones with the college’s management but this was also not heeded,” recalls a parent.

Did they feel uncomfortable about their children using Mahesh’s phone, at any point of time? “We did not hesitate at all in using Mahesh’s phone. A number of our children would use his phone for 20 and 30 minutes but he never minded,” the parent says.

Most schools and higher secondary institutions, whether affiliated to state or central boards, have a rule that imposes a blanket ban on the usage of phones within the school’s premises by students. However there are also opinions that claim this rule should be relaxed. “In this day and age, where the use of phones is unavoidable, I think there is a need to evolve a system where there is regulated use of such devices,” notes B Venkateshwaran, principal of the CBSE affiliated Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Bagalur.

AVINASH SHASTRY
Journalism student
College managements should understand that mobile phones are a necessity for students, girls in particular, to keep in touch with their families in an emergency.
 
SNEHA ASHOK
Graduate student
Children are the most important people in parents' lives and it is their right to be able to communicate with their wards. Institutions cannot stand in the way.

PAVAN KUMAR M K
Student of BA
Mobile phones symbolise personal freedom and that's exactly what students want. Banning use of gadgets thinking it would affect their studies is a byproduct of primitive thought.

SUDHA SITHARAMAN
Prof of Sociology
There cannot be a ban on cellphones after the way in which society has changed. There can only be some regulations on where and when phones should be used.