Dec. 9: The Kamrup (metropolitan) district administration is drafting guidelines to regulate use of cellphones in schools and colleges.

The exercise comes in the wake of two students of a premier Delhi school shooting their sexual escapade on a camera cellphone. The clip was later circulated among the students of the school.

Kamrup (metropolitan) deputy commissioner A.K. Absar Hazarika said the district administration was drafting the guidelines.

?We are drafting guidelines to ensure that these gadgets are not used inside schools and colleges,? he said.

Hazarika said the guidelines, which would be preventive in nature, would also have provisions for imposing fines in the event of violation.

He said while the guidelines would be mandatory for government schools and colleges, the private schools would be at liberty to enforce these or not. However, he warned that in the event of any breach of peace because of misuse of cellphones in private schools, the district administration would take necessary action.

?We will not monitor the implementation of the guidelines in private schools but if there is any trouble, then we will certainly act,? he said.

Among other things, the guidelines will provide for imposing fines or even confiscation if the cellphones were used in schools and colleges.

However, he said a complete ban might not be feasible. ?After all there are advantages, too. For instance, the students can stay in touch with their parents or guardians if they are delayed for some reason or the other,? he said. ?But the cellphones cannot be allowed inside the classes,? he added.

Saying that nothing could justify use of cellphones with cameras by students, he said, ?It can be misused as was the case with the DPS.?

The guidelines, which will apply to the faculty as well, will stipulate ?acceptable ringtones?.

?Nothing fancy and loud will be allowed to be carried into the classes,? he said.

The deputy commissioner said calls to teachers when they are taking classes could not be accepted.

?They must keep their phones in the silent mode and return the calls after the class is over,? he said.

Senior teacher of the Delhi Public School in the city, Neena Newar, said the institution has already asked parents and guardians not to send their children to school with cellphones.

?We are also discussing the possibility of installing closed circuit televisions somewhere in the school building to monitor activities of students,? Newar said.

Headmaster of Don Bosco School, Father Joseph, said while no student is allowed to carry cellphone in the school, teachers carrying the gadgets have been asked to follow certain guidelines inside the school campus. Keeping the cellphones switched off during classes is a must.

A teacher of another leading school said the guidelines would definitely help maintain discipline.

A father of a student of the DPS here said it was unfortunate that the Delhi incident had cast shadow on the use of cellphones in schools and colleges. ?I think such incidents are rare,? he said, adding that students should be allowed to take their cellphones to their institutions as it helps them keep in touch with their parents.

?The guidelines that the district administration is drawing up may be an infringement on fundamental rights,? senior advocate and member of the Bar Council of India, Apurba Kumar Sarmah, said.

?You cannot restrain anyone from carrying cellphones except on security grounds. The guidelines can be challenged in a court of law if it is tantamount to infringement of someone?s freedom,? he said.

Not only educational institutions, the authorities of Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) are also mulling restrictions on use of cellphones by doctors on duty.

GMCH principal-cum-chief superintendent M.M. Deka, however, was not willing to comment on the matter. But sources said such a move was on.

The sources said doctors generally carry cellphones inside operation theatres since there are no rules to prohibit it. This often proves hazardous as the calls distract the doctors.