The Gujarat Government, on the 23rd of January, banned the popular online game PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds (PUBG,) for students of primary schools.
The State Primary Education Department issued a circular and asked the District Primary Education Officers and the primary schools to ensure the ban on PUBG is implemented, under the Protection of Child Rights Act. The ban was enforced as the students are getting addicted to the game, which, in turn, is negatively affecting their academic performance.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) sent a recommendation letter to every State and asked the concerned authorities to ban PUBG. Jagruti Pandya, the chairperson of the Gujarat child rights body, said, “The NCPCR had sent a letter to all the States and recommended a ban on the game. All the States are required to implement it. Looking at the negative effects of the game, we had recently sent a letter to the state government recommending a ban on the game.”
Recently, the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) also banned students from playing PUBG on the University’s campus. The NCPCR sent a letter to all the other States after this move by the VIT and asked the State authorities to implement the same, but to no effect.
