VIJAYAWADA: Free internet access to students of colleges under higher education department will soon be restricted. Officials have taken this decision citing misuse of internet facilities in the campuses to download movies and pornography. However, the method of restricting the internet use is yet to be finalised whether to use jammers at specific timings or to block certain websites.
The State government had started offering free WiFi and internet services in various institutions such as Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT-IIIT) and state-run universities and colleges to provide students with an opportunity to gain more subject knowledge from various sources other than textbooks. With availability of smartphones to majority of the students, the officials extended WiFi services besides internet facilities in computers labs. Institutes such as IIIT’s even offered laptops to the students.
However, it was found that in majority of the cases, WiFi services in the campuses were accessed by the students more for downloading movies and pornography than for study materials. The officials have decided to end this practice by restricting the access to internet. A decision towards the same was taken during a board of studies meeting held in IIIT Nuzvid recently.
Speaking to TNIE, IIIT Nuzvid director D Suryachandra Rao said, “The students get admitted soon after completing their schooling. They are immature and easily get attracted to vices. We have found that internet and WiFi facilities in the campus were being misused by the students. Hence, we are planning to restrict internet access from this academic year. This will be done either by disallowing smartphones inside the campuses or by placing the jammers and turning them on during certain timings or by restricting certain websites.”