- The Directorate of Education and Public Works Department in Delhi are working together to develop a standard operating procedure for a scheme that would allow parents to access live CCTV feeds from classrooms in government schools. This comes after concerns were raised about the security and privacy of children. The SOP will be submitted to the Delhi High Court in November. The scheme aims to ensure the safety of children and will involve multiple layers of authentication, including the use of OTPs and other security measures. Over 1,46,800 CCTV cameras have already been installed in over 700 Delhi government schools.
The Directorate of Education (DoE) and Public Works Department (PWD) are working jointly to formulate a standard operating procedure (SOP) so that a scheme of providing live CCTV access to parents from classrooms in Delhi government schools can be started. The SOP will be submitted to Delhi High Court in November.
A petition was filed in court by Delhi Parents’ Association who raised concerns about the security and privacy of the children.
A case was filed in the Supreme Court as well, but the apex court rejected the petition. But the case has been continuing in the high court since 2017 and in January this year the court directed the Delhi government to file an SOP.
A senior DoE official said: “We are jointly working on it and have taken recommendations from agencies which have been working on the project. We have also sought suggestions from parents. No parent has come out in protest against the scheme.
As there will be several layers of authentication, there is no question about safety and security being compromised. In fact, the entire project is to ensure the safety of children. The SOP being prepared will involve the use of OTPs and other security aspects.
A meeting was held on October 6 where the plan was discussed as was the non-functioning and delay in installing of CCTV in schools.
The official also said that they have already run a pilot and there have been no complaints about it. The access provided to the parents was limited to twice a day.
Shaheed Hemu Kalani Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya in Lajpat Nagar was the first school to receive the new system. In all, 210 cameras were put up around the school. An app called Delhi Government School Live (DGS Live) was installed on smartphones to access the live feed. The parents were provided a link to the app, the student ID and a password. These allowed them to log in to the system in July 2019.
In an affidavit filed with the court earlier, the Delhi government said that the decision to install CCTVs came in the aftermath of certain child abuse reports on school premises. It said this was a “legitimate, well-considered and thought-out policy measure in the larger interest of… students, parents and staff of the schools.”
It said that the decision was not a knee-jerk reaction to reports of sexual abuse in September 2017 but was deliberated on for over two years.
So far, over 1,46,800 CCTV cameras have been installed in over 700 Delhi government schools. A budget of Rs 30 crore was allotted for the project.