UK schools ‘using CCTV to spy on pupils in toilets and changing rooms’

LONDON - An official report has claimed that many schools in UK are using CCTV cameras to spy on pupils in toilets and monitor teachers’ performance in the classroom.

The report by the Information Commissioner’s Office said that the use of video surveillance has evolved in recent years from a security measure to a tool to keep checks on children and staff, reports the Telegraph.

The report warned that many schools were flouting guidance on CCTV, which insists cameras, should only be used to monitor behaviour in exceptional circumstances.

Earlier this year, schools in the US sparked outrage when they used lap-top computer webcams to spy on pupils at home.

The latest study suggested that such practices were “more likely in the UK” as the Government brings in growing numbers of private companies to run schools.

Teaching unions already complain that surveillance technology has been installed in the majority of schools with little notice paid to privacy and civil liberties legislation.

Figures from one union found as many as 85 per cent of teachers reported the use of CCTV in their schools and one-in-10 said cameras had even been placed in toilets.

“The use of CCTV has migrated from perimeter security and access control to monitoring pupil behaviour in public areas such as in corridors and playgrounds, and to more private realms such as changing rooms and toilets,” according to the latest study. (ANI)