Momo Challenge: ICSE association in West Bengal warns schools about 'game', suggests awareness drives for parents and students

With reports of Whatsapp messages inviting youngsters to play an online game ‘Momo Challenge’, the association of heads of the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) schools, West Bengal, has called upon all member schools to urge parents to keep a watch on their children. [caption id=“attachment_5076861” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of ‘Momo’ from the online game, Momo Challenge.[/caption] The association’s West Bengal unit general secretary Nabarun Dey told PTI on Thursday that neither they did they receive any report about any student having received such messages, nor had the association been given any ‘advisory’ by the CID or the police till date on the issue. However, going by media reports: “two days ago we have asked the member schools to undertake sensitisation drive among children and their parents about the danger, inherent of certain online games like ‘Momo’ and ‘Blue Whale’. “We are acting on our own and this is aimed at sensitising the guardians and the students about the menace of certain online games —earlier ‘Blue Whale’ and now ‘Momo’,” he said. Asked to elaborate on the sensitisation drive, he said, “we have asked the schools to tell the students during the assembly before classes every day that they should keep away from certain online games. “We have also asked the schools to ask the parents to ensure they keep a tab on what games their wards are playing at home,” Dey said. Dey, also the Principal of Central Modern School, Baranagar, said the sensitisation programme had already started in his institution. There are about 150 ICSE-affiliated schools in the plains and 30 schools in Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong in the hills. The state CID had earlier said all the numbers from where the messages were sent to the people in the state to play the Momo Challenge were based abroad and an investigation had been initiated into it.