Bikaner college wary of boys getting girls' numbers, makes separate WhatsApp groups

Bikaner: With the increasing usage of smartphones, most students get class-related information and even study material through WhatsApp.

Teachers from an educational institute in Bikaner have now created separate WhatsApp groups for girls and boys to share class related information, fearing misconduct.

According to a Hindustan Times report, teachers from the Rajasthan University of Veternary and Animal Sciences (RAJUVAS) were not keen on sharing the mobile numbers of girls with boys and hence, have come up with this unorthodox solution.

While generally the groups are created by class representatives, a few teachers take the onus. Nevertheless, only the third and final year undergraduate students have separate groups, not research scholars.

The students have by and large welcomed the move, asserting that while there have been no cases of stalking or harassment yet, being cautious does not hurt anyone.

“There have been no typical cases of stalking, but once in a while girls do face harassment from boys over calls,” Prerna Nathawat, a research scholar, said girls on the campus are wary of sharing their contact numbers.

“If you start giving your mobile numbers to people, it gets shared easily and then you face problems. It’s likely that the class boys leak numbers of the girls to outsiders,” she said.

The college students’ union president, Lokeshwar Singh Shekhawat, was also quoted as saying that it was more of a precautionary measure.