Cellphones don’t belong in lectures

Iam utterly appalled by the use of cellphones in the university lecture halls and during lecture sessions. have observed over the last two months that texting during classes is a common occurrence. I have also noted that this behaviour is highly prevalent among both the female and male students.

What made me even more perplexed is the fact that they would text from the beginning of the class until the end, unless of course they were spotted and rebuked by the lecture concerned.

This disturbing habit occurs even when a lecturer is giving out crucial information on issues relating to assignments.

I attribute some of the low grades obtained by students to the use of cellphones during lecture sessions, which in my view takes a vast part of concentration from students.

Just the other day during a life skills class, this young student who was sitting next to me started texting the moment she sat down in class.

This continued for over half an hour, with her occasionally flicking a glance towards the direction of a lecturer to make sure she was not caught in the act.

This gives me a clear indication that students know the implications of using cellphones during class sessions, but are not prepared to stop texting in class.

I strongly believe measures need to be taken to curb the scourge of cellphone usage during lecture sessions.

Students should not have cellphones in class or cellphone jamming devices should be installed in lecture halls. Bulunga Philemon Welfred

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