Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) must be installed in every classroom. Give your views either for or against this statement

For the statement: With an increase in the number of violent scenes created in classrooms, I think that closed-circuit television must be installed in every classroom.

Students go to school to gain an education but not all are interested in it. Some of them attend school under parental pressure. They are the back-benchers who usually create indiscipline in the class. The CCTV cameras help to keep an eye on such students who are always on the lookout to act like a miscreant. Thus we can say that the installation of such cameras reduces the incidents of bullying as well. Students are under fear of being caught through the CCTV and so many times they are on the back foot.

CCTV also prevents exits from the back door especially in the case of large classrooms or senior students. These cameras also make the classrooms safe and secure in today’s scenario where some students are always in a mood to be a spoilsport.

All the above said points do not convey that CCTV can only keep an eye on students behaviour. There is one more advantage of these. They do not give a one-sided pictures in the classroom. If some sort of indiscipline has taken place in the class, they come in handy to take disciplinary action against the offender as they give the true picture of what happened in the classroom.

Moreover, the CCTV footage helps the school authorities to keep a check on classroom teaching as well. They ensure quality teaching and also provide transparency in the time of need.

To sum up we can say that closed-circuit television must be installed in every classroom for better teaching quality and to maintain discipline in class.

Against the statement: In the age of science and technology, everyone wants to move a step ahead and do something to improve the standard and quality of their institution. One such example is the use of Closed Circuit Television in the classroom.

But I want to ask a question. Were the students unruly or indisciplined when CCTVs were not installed in classrooms? Was the quality of teaching worse when CCTVs were not in use in the previous days. The answer is a big ‘no’.

Before such monitored classes, students used to take lessons in the class without being indisciplined. Every coin has two sides. In the same manner, there are students of all types in the classroom. They all come from different socio-economic backgrounds. It is the duty of a teacher to control the class. The lesson should be made so interesting that it captivates the interest of all students and they forget everything about breaking rules. The role of the teacher is an integral part of the classroom.

Moreover, if at all, CCTVs are installed in the classrooms it is sometimes done at such a point where monitoring is not possible. It can’t cover the whole classroom. Some corners still may be left. Thus the human eye is far better at monitoring classrooms than CCTVs. They seem to be violating the privacy of the classroom.

Moreover, the cost of purchasing and installing school CCTV security camera systems would be high. Monitoring and maintaining then add extra expenses. If they are vandalized or stolen by others, it can be very costly.

The security camera can influence the trust of teachers and students, they could feel that the school management does not trust them. And everyone would be conscious that any action of theirs would be seen as a negative thing and could lead to a ‘guilty until proven innocent’ attitude.

Some of the educators feel that surveillance in schools will create an authoritarian atmosphere, and students may come to school with a sense of apprehension. Thus CCTV cameras should not be installed in schools and some other constructive way should be developed to maintain discipline and decorum in schools