Schools creating fake Facebook IDs to spy on kids

Parents say at least two popular schools in Chennai have taken recourse to spying on children on networking websites such as Facebook and microblogging site Twitter to prevent the institutions from being maligned.
CHENNAI: Alarmed at the audacious behaviour of students on the internet and by comments they make to ridicule teachers and school authorities, some institutions in the city have started snooping on children's activities on social networking sites.

School officials are assuming fake identities to befriend students and check if they are making uncharitable comments against their teachers, schools or even each other, in an ethically questionable and possibly illegal expedient to curb what they see as unacceptable behaviour.

Parents say at least two popular schools in Chennai have taken recourse to spying on children on networking websites such as Facebook and microblogging site Twitter to prevent the institutions from being maligned. They say some schools have even taken disciplinary action against students for calling teachers names on social networking sites.

Schools cite instances such as cyber bullying to justify "keeping tabs" on children online. "A remark by a first-year degree student against a junior in Class 11 in the same institution recently sparked off an instance of cyber bullying, with students ganging up against each other and trading abuse online," a teacher said.

Yet many schools consider spying on a student an unfair intrusion into the child's privacy.

Sarah Alexander, principal of Spartan CBSE School, said teachers at the Mogappair institution caution students on uploading pictures on the web and teach them appropriate online behaviour. "We inform parents of the students' online activities," she said. "But we do not probe each account. I don't think it is the right way to curtail improper behaviour on the net."

Online activists are also critical of schools spying on students. "If schools are worried about cyber bullying and students maligning teachers, they should teach students how to use the internet responsibly," said internet expert Anivar Aravind.

"Any individual who is 14 years old can create a profile on a social networking site. People are free to use the internet to express their opinions and emotions," he added.