It has come to our notice that students of NMIMS have been meted with online harassment by Proctors from a third-party service provider,

Students are being stalked by the proctors and women are being made targets. These are clear privacy violations.

1/n

It is extremely disturbing and profoundly problematic that online examinations conducted by various universities across the country are using third party service providers that have zero respect and concern for the privacy of the students.

2/n

The education sector saw a major shift during the #covid19 pandemic with students going online without the worry of missing out.

But, this breach of their right to privacy has become a major issue especially in the absence of any concrete guidelines or monitoring.

3/n

Many institutions in India are outsourcing Proctoring to third party service providers who have complete disregard to privacy, have conducted no background checks of Proctors along with no sensitivity training.

Moreover, Proctoring technology is highly invasive in nature

4/n

Proctoring technology uses AI powered algorithms to keep a check on students writing the exams.

Moreover, the procedure to select and appoint Proctors does not follow a strong due process and there are no defined standard protocols and guidelines.

5/n

Additionally, student's personal data - their phone number, names etc. are being shared with proctors and there is no system to protect their data from abuse by third party service provider + No privacy guidelines to this effect.

6/n

As student's private information is being shared without their consent, it has led to proctors stalking female students on social media.

This is a violation of the fundamental rights of students' right to privacy.

7/n

The personal data of students - including phone numbers, addresses and email IDs are given to proctors who are hired without a rigorous process, leading to harassment.

This is a violation of the UGC guidelines for online classes and exams. https://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/221580.pdf

8/n

We need better guidelines for proctors - who are vested with too much power. A course on personal data privacy, and the consequences of violating it should be a minimum. Students must be empowered by the institution on their digital rights. Third party apps must be audited.

9/n

Tech policy organisations need to work with educational institutions to prevent these unfortunate scenarios. These are not new problems, they are pronounced when education shifts online.

We need to build a better digital future, which is safe for all students.