Awareness spread in Chennai colleges about blue whale game

“We have started talking with the first-year students. They are the ones who will step into the new world and some of them do not know how to handle the new-found freedom. Some of them come from other parts of the country and miss home and are often depressed. The vulnerable ones are the easy

victims of the Blue Whale curators. We have asked them to not indulge in such dangerous online games,” says Sneha Priya, a staff at an Arts and Science College The colleges, even before any word from the Higher Education Department, have taken steps. M Venkataramanan, Prinicpal of Shree Chandraprabhu Jain College, says, “The teachers are spreading awareness and have advised students to stay away from these games. In college, the students have an easy access to phones. When in school, the administration and parents can confiscate the phone. Therefore, it becomes even more important for college students to be addressed.” There are also colleges that asked students to check the arms of their peers. “A teacher walked into our class and asked us to check each other’s arms.

Now that more cases are being reported, we are expecting more sessions in the future,” says a student of an engineering college 40km away from the city.

While the school education department has already taken steps, higher education department is also doing its bit. “A directive has been sent by the government to all the educational institutions asking them to take measures to spread awareness,” says a higher education official.