(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-10-12 07:14

Schools should not ban students from using their own computers, says an article in Beijing Youth Daily. The following is an excerpt:

After the start of the fall semester, Zhejiang University, Nanjing University and Shanghai Jiaotong University prohibited new students from using their own computers. The management of these universities said the prohibition is meant to prevent students from indulging in electronic games. However, experts doubt the effectiveness of this measure.

What it implies is that new students are still ignorant and therefore they do not know how to use their rights in a correct manner. The ban is to ensure they can live a good life in the future by studying hard now.

An official in charge of educational management at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology said the reason for the ban is that new students, having just left high school, lack self-control and may excessively play computer games.

The ban may appear minor, but it opens up a whole sphere where the freedom of students could be infringed. We oppose this measure not because we doubt its effectiveness, but for safeguarding the rights and freedoms of all students.

After all, in a modern society, the only reason to interfere with the rights of citizens under legal age is it is to protect their interests. But university students are young adults and thus this type of interference cannot be justified.

To stop students from indulging in computer games, the universities can resort to other measures. They can open more computer classes to train students in a more positive manner.

(China Daily 10/12/2007 page10)