Chennai schools ban SMS lingo

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SMS language is a strict no when it comes to examinations. Schools across the city have made it clear that students who use sentences such as “Gud to hav u hr” and “Pls find ans b-lo” will lose marks.

“We are warned by our teachers not to use such language in our notebooks and especially in the answer sheet. Often, teachers circle such words with a warning note and cut a maximum of half a mark for doing so,” said Tauseef Mohammed, who studies in a Besant Nagar school.

Though there is not enough clarity on the new rules, many believe that certain subjects must be exempted from this rule. Shwetha Parekh, a student, said, “If marks are deducted for using such language in subjects like English then it’s understandable.

But it doesn’t make sense for subjects like maths and chemistry. Chemistry is more about formulas and concepts and we must be awarded marks based on our knowledge and not the language we use.”

Another student, Prateek Harsh, argued, “Nowadays, we submit most of our assignments and projects as a MS Word document and we use a spellcheck most times. This could be a great step for students like us to stay in touch with the regular English language.”

However, teachers believe that students’ vocabulary and language skills will be hampered if they don’t take this issue seriously.

Ramaa Subramnaiam, prinicipal of DAV Matriculation Higher Senior Secondary School, said, “We haven’t received any official news on this but appropriate steps must be taken by the schools when they find students widely using the SMS lingo. It affects the language and the vocabulary, which are very important these days.”