by Maleeha Sofi
SRINAGAR: The students of the University of Kashmir (KU) have been complaining about poor internet connectivity within the campus which is affecting their academics as well as their interaction with the outside world.
The students alleged that jammers have been installed inside the varsity to curtail internet connectivity.
A student pursuing a master’s in history said, “ I fail to understand why the departments have put restrictions on the internet in the classroom or in the area surrounding the teaching department. If it is that to preserve the decorum of the academia, then we have failed to understand that the internet constitutes a major role in education.”
“Internet helps students in in-depth study on account of vast content it provides,” the student said.
Pertinent to mention, the varsity provides Wi-Fi connectivity to students who want to access internet. It is to tackle the poor mobile internet connectivity which is witnessed because of the jammers. However, students do not seem to be satisfied with this Wi-Fi service.
One of the research scholars, wishing anonymity, said , “The University provides Wi-Fi connection only for five hours, however, I study for ten hours. Even during that time the speed of WI-Fi is too slow. I need internet connection all day for reading research material online.”
“I usually go outside the University campus to make calls and use internet which not only costs me crucial time but also disturbs my whole environment.”
According to students, jammers not only block the internet but the mobile network reception too leading to difficult in making normal phone calls.
“The main issue with having jammers is that it not only creates a hurdle in internet but also prevents us to call our family or in times of emergency when we are in the department,” a student pursuing Masters in Home Science at the University said.
According to an article published in Live Mint in 2014, 93 per cent students in India access Internet every day. There is a possibility that the number would be higher now given the prevalent awareness about uses of internet. Millions of websites on the internet help students to research about their subject and solve a query within seconds.
According to students, even though they have access to Wi-Fi services in the campus, but it is restricted to certain buildings and hours. “It takes a lot of time and effort to leave the department or find a location in campus where mobile internet works at the time of an emergency. We get irritated by it at times,” the student said.
Another student on condition of anonymity said, “The present era is the time of digitisation, but the time we spend in university feels like an old dark phase of internet restrictions. We are compelled to settle down without internet while attempting to find study material on internet which affects quality of our work adversely.”
“It might be any accidental technical glitch if not jammers, but it definitely is traumatic,” she added.
Dr Nisar Ahmad Mir, Registrar, University of Kashmir refuted the claims of jammers installed inside the University campus.
“The network issues might be due to poor connectivity in the area or in any particular network provider,” Mir said.
However, students using different cellular carriers complained of the same issue being faced inside their respective teaching departments.
