Surveillance cameras will be installed in places like corridors, store rooms and rooftops of all primary and secondary schools in China as the government seeks to stamp out bullying and campus violence. The move to “fully watch over” schools swiftly drew mixed views from educators after China’s Education Ministry put up the notice.
Some felt bullying would simply shift outside of campuses, while others said teachers would be better able to monitor it in secluded areas of school compounds. As for technology providers who stand to gain from the measure, the discussion is already moving to surveillance for toilets and what methods would be too intrusive.
In its notice, the Ministry of Education instructed each school to set up a management committee to deal with campus violence and publish contact information such as phone numbers and emails of relevant officials to report cases to. The notice also instructed local education departments to develop guidelines for teachers and parents on matters such as counselling.
The directives come as deaths from school bullying incidents spark debate and outrage in China. In March, a 13-year-old boy in the northern province of Hebei was allegedly killed and buried by three classmates. Teachers in China told CNA some schools already deploy closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems in classrooms, which are beneficial in some ways.
A primary school form teacher in Guangzhou said over half of the 50 classrooms in her school have surveillance cameras installed.
The decision was jointly made by form teachers and the parents’ committee, added the teacher, who asked to be known as Ms Ou. “If the majority of parents are agreeable, a CCTV would be installed in the class for them to keep watch,” said the Chinese language teacher with over 26 years of experience.
