Chinese parents can now monitor their kids in classrooms in China as schools have begun a controversial system in which class footages are broadcasted live online.
By logging onto a live broadcast from their child’s classrooms, parents can now watch what their children are doing during school hours.
The service, which is provided by a firm called Shuidi Zhibo, has so far received mixed reactions from Chinese netizens. Critics of the program pointed out that the monitoring may be a violation of the privacy of the students.
According to The Paper (via Daily Mail), Shuidi Zhibo has already set up hundreds of streaming channels from kindergartens, primary schools and high schools across the country. In some schools, the monitoring even extends to corridors, the canteen and dormitories.
Recent reports of teachers abusing children may have added to the popularity of such system among many parents.
However, comforting as this may seem to parents, some observers point out that videos of children being broadcast to the public may also pose some security risks.
“Something that happens in school should not appear on an open platform. It is also legally a violation of personal privacy, data security and personal safety,” Zhou Ming, a lawyer at a Shanghai law firm was quoted as saying.
Social media users in the country have been debating over the issue as well:
“A student under such as weird education system will have psychological problems,” a netizen pointed out.
“Live streaming a dormitory…for those who have their daughter staying there, have you ever thought that men can get access to watch your daughter all the time?” another user noted.
“Installing cameras at school is pretty common, which I can understand. But live streaming is completely over the top,” one commenter wrote. “If parents are to care about their children, they can go to school and watch over the CCTV. Do you think this is the right thing to do by exposing children’s privacy to the public?”
Meanwhile, Shuidi Zhibo explained their mission online via a statement after such concerns were raised in local media.
“It’s up to the teacher to purchase, install and use the camera. It’s a voluntary operation,” reads the statement.
“Many parents want to understand their children in the classroom performance and learning situation. Schools and teachers understand the demands of parents and understand they want to see their child’s classroom performance. As of today, we have not received complaints from parents or students.”
