The case for social media in Indian schools

The recent episode of the bullying video going viral in Delhi has only made the case for social media in schools stronger, in my opinion.

Just think about it. If a student hadn’t recorded the incident and circulated the video, would the nasty case have been viewed by thousands or even treated with the seriousness that it deserves? Or would it have been brushed under the carpet like countless bullying episodes that take place in our schools on a daily basis.

Remember the eleven-year-old girl who died in Kolkata last year after being bullied by seniors? Were the bullies taken to task? No. Instead parents unleashed their fury on the school’s principal. None of the newspapers named or shamed the bullies who slipped away into the comforting cover of anonymity. Some punishment that.

Instead of banning mobile phones and treating social media tools such as WhatsApp and Facebook as a detriment, schools and educators in India (and elsewhere) need to educate students about using social media in a positive way. While it’s true that there are many dangers online, there are risks offline as well. Parents and educators need to make children aware of these dangers and help them use social media and mobile phones to enrich their lives and also, in cases such as bullying and harassment, make them more secure.

Social media, when used correctly, can be a powerful tool. It's time to educate our children.

S P Jain wins international TeamMBA award

After more than 21,000 votes were cast online in May, two business schools ― SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (India) and the College of William and Mary Mason School of Business (United States)―won TeamMBA awards for their community service and social responsibility programs. The winners were announced today by the Graduate Management Admission Council at its Annual Conference, the largest gathering of graduate business school professionals in the world.

A total of 78 service programs from schools around the world were considered for the TeamMBA award. These programs involved nearly 1,500 students who volunteered almost 50,000 hours and raised US$2.6 million.

“In honoring these two great institutions, we  also recognize the tremendous spirit and passion that business school students around the world have for giving back to their community and to their commitment to improving the lives of others,” said Dave Wilson, president and CEO of GMAC. “These are challenging times for many people all over the world and to see the effort that these students are putting in to making a difference is truly remarkable. Today's MBAs and other graduate business students fiercely embrace their obligation to give back and make the world a better place.”

SP Jain won the All School Award, which recognizes a school for its commitment to promoting and supporting social engagement by its students through school-led programs, services, institutional culture and community outreach. Through more than a dozen individual, team and school-wide projects, students at SP Jain worked to improve the lives of women, milk and agricultural growers, disaster victims and rural villagers.

The College of William and Mary Mason School of Business won the All Service Award, which recognizes outstanding projects in categories such as community service, sustainability/greening and consulting, for engaging in a variety of projects, including a mustache auction to raise money to start a microlending account, two blood drives that collected 100 pints of blood, and raising tens of thousands of dollars for local and global charities.