First-day shocker for state board students
GSHSEB caught off guard as Shraddha School in Satellite goes out of way to provide online access of class 10, 12 exams to parents; board calls it illegal
If CCTV cameras were not enough to keep an eye on the board exams, an over-enthusiastic city school has gone a step further by giving online access to parents to view their wards appearing for the exam at the centre. The purpose, according to them, is to `de-stress’ parents. But the arrangement has stressed the already burdened students. Gujarat Board that has been caught off guard by the school’s singular move without consulting them, has termed the action illegal.
On the first day of Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) class 10 and class 12 examinations that began on Wednesday, parents who had come to drop off their children at Shraddha Vidyamandir at Satellite were greeted by a poster at the school gate. It mentioned that the school is under CCTV surveillance, you can view online the examinations that are conducted in a fair and transparent manner.
The parents were directed to download an application named `MEye’ and provided the login details. Once a person logs in, heshe will be able to view a continuous video streaming across the rooms of the students appearing for the three-hour long board exams.
Around 1,000 students of both SSC and HSC appeared for the exams on Wednesday at the school.
Though parents have welcomed the move, the students are more than jittery by the added watch directly from home.
According to Anant Kansara, parent of a class 10 student, “It was a surprise. No other school in the city as per my knowledge has this provision and it is great if a person sitting in any corner of the world can watch the students appearing for the exam.“
The school had earlier courted controversy in 2015, where they had placed a huge LCD screen right outside the school for parents to be able to see their children writing the board exams. It had to be discontinued soon after there was huge ruckus in the school.
Another parent justified it by saying that it would help in curbing cheating cases. “Bright students need not be worried about their parents keeping an eye on them as they are well prepared. It will only be disadvantageous for students who are weak in studies and peep in other’s papers,“ said Sonal Patel, whose son studies at Kameshwar School.
“I am feeling relaxed. There is no need for me to stay back here, I can keep an eye on my child from my office too,“ said Rajnikant Gamit whose son is appearing for the class 10 examination.
Students get edgy
But students are not amused at this additional pressure. A student on condition of anonymity said, “I was nervous as this was my first board exam and add to that my parents were watching me all the time.
“Though I did not have any time to spare a thought about it, but the thought of my parents watching me troubled me no end. As a student, I feel that parents should not be shown live video of students appearing for the exams.“
Kairav Gamit appearing for the class 10 exam at the school said, “I knew that I was under CCTV surveillance and my parents were keeping an eye on me. I was well prepared for the paper and there was no need to peep into somebody else’s paper. It was only after I finished my exam, my parents told me how my fellow students were distracted and were trying to copy. They also asked me to keep calm and not get distracted in the exam hall.“
School’s justification
When asked if the school had taken permission for the online streaming, centre supervisor and vice-principal of Shraddha School Vijay Dave said, “The school is doing it at its own expense to facilitate the parents and we have informed the DEO about it.“
However, the DEO Rural H H Rajyaguru has denied having any knowledge about it. “I am unaware of the live webcasting. I received a call from GSHSEB regarding the same. I will send a team to the school tomorrow to inquire. The school had got into trouble in the past over a similar issue.“ The school has been making provisions for the parents for the past five years, Dave claimed. “It was only last year that there were no screens or applications provided to the parents.As the students are already under CCTV surveillance, there is no disturbance to them as such,“ he said.
GSHSEB Chairman A J Shah categorically said, “Such kind of public webcasting is not allowed. The board does webcasting and recording for its own internal purpose, we do not show the recording to the public. Actually parents should not be shown live video as it breaches the student’s privacy as well.“ When Mirror asked him if any legal action will be taken against the school, Shah said, “I will have to look into the matter as this is first-of-its-kind case. It will not be possible to comment now about action against the school.“
Past tense
Back in 2015, Shraddha Vidya Mandir was in the news for putting up an LCD screen at the school’s gate. There was a lot of ruckus as the parents gathered around the huge screen. Interestingly, one of the student’s parents also started shouting her son’s name when she saw on the screen that her son was getting distracted. Two days later the screen was removed.
Source – Ahmedabad Mirror – 16th March 2017
