Kirti Chachan
Class XII, Mahadevi Birla Girls? Higher Secondary School, Calcutta

It is absolutely outrageous that the MMS clip was distributed and sold on the Net. Even if they filmed themselves having sex, which in itself is shocking, they should have had the decency to not circulate the clip. But I would not blame the girl for this. Maybe she was in love with the boy and did it to prove her love. However, I don?t buy the theory that the girl was unaware that the whole thing was being shot. In fact, I have seen the clip and it was quite clear that they both knew that the camera was on.

Sex is definitely not permissible among 17-year-olds. But everyone knows that under-age sex happens. There will always be some adventurous students who will break the rules without stopping to think about the consequences.

Can sex education prevent such a thing? No way. These days even students of Class III know all about sex. There is obviously a tendency to explore it as early as possible. Perhaps counselling by parents could help.

Sandeep Gupta
Class XI, The International School, Calcutta

It was really foolish of them to have sex in school. Had they not done it in school, the rest wouldn?t have followed. But let?s not crucify the entire student community for this. Strict rules like banning the use of cell phones is really uncalled for. Technology is here to stay and you can?t wish it away. This is a fast-moving generation that loves to carry gadgets. Why penalise everybody? Cell phones, without cameras, are useful as they enable you to keep in touch with your parents when you are out. Maybe we could have a few restrictions on their use. Like in our school, we have to deposit it at the office before classes commence and pick it up afterwards.

I really do think we need sex education in school. This will help remove this hush-hush attitude about sex. If it is discussed in class, youngsters will learn that it?s a normal activity that need not be experimented with. And let?s not forget about the evil influence of cable TV and the Internet on the younger generation. Especially, the Internet which has got scores of porn sites and software that could ruin a child?s mental equilibrium. These should be banned.

Should the two students at the centre of the scandal be jailed? No, that will be too harsh. They have already faced a lot of harassment and humiliation. Let us now leave them alone.

Girish Sharma
2nd year, Nopany Institute of Management, Calcutta

Let?s not pass any judgement on whether it was wrong on their part to have sex. It?s their personal affair, after all. But I don?t think they ought to have done it in school. Or circulated the video clip like this. They have unnecessarily complicated matters for themselves.

Students should never be given camera phones. What do they need it for? Just an ordinary cell phone is enough to keep in touch with parents and friends. If you give them fancy gadgets, they will obviously experiment with it. And this is what?s going to happen. Parents, too, need to be responsible.

We need proper sex education in schools. This is the only way you can disseminate vital information on sex and tell youngsters that they need to use their discretion. As things stand, most of us can?t discuss these things with parents or teachers. As a result, we pick up a lot of wrong ideas from friends and dubious sources and grow up as confused individuals.

Should the two be put behind bars? That would be too harsh. They have faced a lot of flak already. If they are jailed, their lives and careers will be ruined. Let?s give them a second chance.

Neeti Jain
Class IX, DAV Model School, Durgapur

The most shocking thing about the MMS scandal is that these two students put their pictures in the public domain. Also, the fact that they chose to have sex in school. Had they kept it private, it certainly wouldn?t have been so bad. However, that is not to say that a student of Class XI is mature enough to have sex.

As for gadgets like camera phones, I don?t think there is any harm if school students have them as long as they know how to use them responsibly. I feel the best way to deal with such deviant behaviour is to introduce proper sex education from Class VIII. That way we would be made aware of this sensitive issue and would know how to handle ourselves in tricky situations.

Lastly, I don?t think cable TV or the Internet are a bad influence on teenagers. An overwhelming majority of teenagers use both but they don?t indulge in this kind of acts. Why blame technology for the individual depravity of a few?

Priyadarshini Mitra
First year English Honours, Jadavpur University, Calcutta

What I found most outrageous about the MMS scandal was that the pictures were circulated among the friends of this boy and girl and put on the Net for sale. I am not condoning their act, but it would have been better had they kept what is an intensely private moment, just that ? private.

This incident shows that it is high time conservative Indian society came to terms with the truth of under-age sex. Today?s teenagers are mature beyond their years, but they also have to realise that they have to be responsible for their actions.

Another issue that needs to be addressed is technology. Camera-equipped mobile phones may have become everyone?s whipping boy in this scandal, but I feel they are fine if they?re used and not abused. The graver issue underlying all this is the degenerating sense of morality in the youth.

Proper sex education, and not what passes off in its name in many schools, seems like a good place to begin with in the search for a solution to all this. Comprehensive counselling and informal discussions are the need of the hour.

Yes, the media does have an immense impact on young, impressionable minds but to condemn it for everything that goes wrong in society is unacceptable. Cable TV and the Internet are both a bane and a blessing and the influence they have on children cannot be all bad. As far as these two DPS students are concerned, I think counselling is the only way forward for them. Harsh punishment may have a detrimental impact on their future. They deserve an opportunity to reform.

Souradeep Datta
Class X, Future Foundation School, Calcutta

I am shocked at the fact that they did what they did in school. After all, a school is a place of learning. They should not have violated its sanctity. Also, there is no question of allowing people under a certain age to have sex. The social conditions in our country are such that most 17-year-olds are not mature enough to have sex.

However, I feel there is nothing wrong with camera phones. Just because some people choose to misuse them, the vast majority that knows how to handle technology responsibly shouldn?t be deprived of them.

And no, I don?t think sex education will make any diffrence. In most good schools nowadays, students are made aware of these things. It?s just the questionable morals of a few and their inability to differentiate between right and wrong that is leading them to commit such offensive behaviour. The same goes for cable TV and the Internet. If you choose to imbibe only the wrong stuff, why blame the medium?

Lastly, I do feel that the boy and girl should be punished in some way. But putting them in jail is not the answer. They could probably be sent to a correctional home.

Vijay Kumar Khandal
IIT Madras, Chennai

What I find most offensive about the whole affair is that the two were having sex in school. That, to begin with, is unpardonable. Everything else comes later. Also, young people who are below a certain age ought not to have sex. They are not prepared, either physically or psychologically, for it and it is likely to have an adverse impact on their whole life.

With regard to gizmos like camera phones, they really don?t need them. They should be given guidance, not gadgets because at that age, a boy or a girl cannot decide what is good or bad.

Which is why we need proper sex education in schools. It would be foolish to say that sex is a bad thing. It is just that there is a proper time and place for it. That is what we need to tell our young friends.

Another point that I would like to make is that let?s not blame it all on cable TV and the Net. Every technology has positive and negative sides to it. Today, the Internet and cable TV are intrinsic to our lives. So while they may have some negetive influences, we cannot possibly eliminate them from our lives. The DPS scandal has shown that we need to have a system in place at home so that children are not forced to turn to unreliable sources of information on matters like sex.