A school in Khatima, Uttarakhand, has come under scrutiny after an anti-mobile phone awareness activity reportedly left several children crying and screaming.
The incident allegedly took place at Adarsh India Montessori School in Biria Majhola, Udham Singh Nagar, where the activity was intended to warn students about excessive smartphone use and screen time.
A video circulating online appears to show children becoming visibly distressed during the exercise, raising questions over whether fear was an appropriate way to communicate the risks of excessive phone use to young students.
Available school records identify the institution as Adarsh India Montessori Education Trust, Jitendra Middle School, a private, unaided recognised school serving Classes 1 to 8. The school’s stated reasoning, as described in reports accompanying the footage, was to make children understand the possible consequences of excessive smartphone use.
However, no detailed public statement from the school, the Udham Singh Nagar education department or other officials explaining the activity, the number of affected students or any action taken against it was available in the sources reviewed as of September 22, 2026.
The incident has therefore renewed a wider debate: while excessive screen exposure is a legitimate concern for children, should awareness campaigns rely on fear when the intended audience is young and potentially vulnerable?
Activity Sparks Concern
The reported incident centres on an unusual awareness exercise conducted at the school in Biria Majhola, Khatima. According to descriptions accompanying the circulating footage, the school was attempting to demonstrate the possible dangers of excessive mobile-phone use rather than simply delivering a classroom lecture on screen time.
The activity reportedly became distressing for some students, with children seen crying, screaming or appearing frightened. The precise sequence of events, what was shown to the children, which age groups participated and whether parents were informed beforehand have not been independently established through a publicly available official account.
School-directory records linked to UDISE+ identify Adarsh India Montessori Education Trust, Jitendra Middle School as a co-educational private unaided recognised school in Biriya, Khatima, offering Classes 1 to 8. The records list six teachers and 26 students for the 2025-26 academic year, while also recording a pre-primary section.
These figures provide context about the institution but do not independently verify what occurred during the viral activity. The school itself has not, in the sources reviewed, publicly explained whether the exercise was intended as a simulation, role-play or another form of demonstration.
Likewise, no verified statement from parents or individual students has been located, making it important to distinguish what can be seen in the circulating footage from claims about what happened before or after it.
Screen-Time Debate Grows
The concern the school was reportedly attempting to address is supported by established health guidance, even though the method used has become the subject of scrutiny.
The World Health Organization recommends limiting sedentary screen time among young children and stresses the importance of balancing screen-based activities with physical activity, sleep and interactive non-screen activities. F
or children aged 3-4, WHO recommends no more than one hour of sedentary screen time a day, with less being better. The American Academy of Pediatrics has similarly noted that media use can offer benefits as well as risks for children and adolescents, and says healthy media use should take account of a child’s developmental stage rather than follow a one-size-fits-all approach.
That distinction matters in the Khatima case. Warning children about excessive phone use can be part of digital-wellbeing education, but making children frightened is a separate question. Government school-safety guidance also emphasises that children have a right to an environment that is safe, protective and conducive to their growth and development.
The Ministry of Education’s guidelines state that schools should provide a safe and child-friendly environment, while more recent School Management Committee guidance calls for respectful and supportive behaviour by teachers and staff and attention to students’ mental and emotional well-being.
Meanwhile, CBSE’s school-safety framework requires affiliated schools to follow child-safety guidelines and relevant protections. These principles do not, by themselves, establish that the Khatima activity breached any particular rule; rather, they underline why the emotional well-being of children is an important consideration when schools design awareness programmes.
What Happens Next Matters
The Khatima incident also comes against a wider backdrop of schools and families trying to respond to growing concerns around children’s screen habits. Smartphones can be used for communication, education and access to information, but prolonged or poorly regulated use can displace sleep, physical activity, face-to-face interaction and other aspects of childhood.
WHO’s guidance specifically recommends replacing prolonged sedentary screen time among young children with active play and interactive activities such as reading and storytelling. The AAP likewise recommends that families create age-appropriate media routines and balance online and offline life rather than treating all media use as inherently harmful.
In this context, schools can play a useful role by teaching children how to recognise unhealthy screen habits and develop healthier routines. But awareness programmes also need to be age-appropriate and sensitive to how young students interpret frightening imagery or demonstrations.
As of September 22, no detailed official response from the school or the local education administration confirming an inquiry, disciplinary action or revised guidance was found in the publicly indexed sources reviewed for this report.
That makes any claim that authorities have already taken action premature. The immediate questions for the school and education authorities are therefore straightforward: what exactly was the activity, why was that particular method selected, were parents or guardians informed, how were distressed children supported afterwards, and will the school review the exercise?
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Teaching children about responsible technology use is important, but the way that lesson is delivered matters just as much as the lesson itself. A classroom should be a space where children can ask questions, understand risks and learn without feeling threatened or humiliated.
If students genuinely became frightened during an awareness activity, their emotional response deserves to be taken seriously rather than dismissed as part of the exercise. At the same time, the wider conversation should not turn into a blanket rejection of smartphones: children need practical digital literacy, healthy boundaries and guidance on using technology safely.
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