Jason Jenkins

Jason loves anything tech-related and drives his partner crazy by bringing home the latest gadgets to play with. So crazy, in fact, she has finally persuaded him to buy a new place to house all the junk -- sorry, life-changing consumer technology -- he has amassed over the years

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Friday 7 August 2009, 3:32pm

Should CCTV be in schools?

CCTV cameras are everywhere, and for the large part people seem to accept them. But should they be in school classrooms?

Sam Goodman doesn't think so. The Guardian is reporting that the pupil staged a protest at his school earlier this year when four cameras appeared in his classroom. As he put it:

"Ideas can't be expressed freely if we're all being monitored... We'll end up with all teachers being the same. And pupils will grow up thinking that it's acceptable to be monitored like this."

On the flip side of the argument, the Guardian quotes a headteacher in Salford, who says they've been using CCTV to monitor teachers for a while, contributing to a big increase in the number of children passing GCSEs each year.

So what do you think? Is it time for a check on the ever-increasing number of CCTV cameras in our lives? Is it right that pupils are monitored in this way in our schools? Or do the benefits that cameras bring outweigh any of the disadvantages? Let us know in the comments below.

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When I was in Year 11 in school (2006) some kid in my year threw a tennis ball at a girl who he disliked for whatever reason. At the time, I was nearby, and I was one of the "suspects" for who might have thrown the ball. Right next to us, there was a CCTV camera, right at the scene of the incident. We were all called in at lunch time, where one of us had to "admit" to throwing the ball. Obviously none of you do it. The guy who does it doesn't admit to it because he doesn't want the punishment, and the rest of us don't say who it was because, obviously, he'd probably gather a group of his friends to, well, beat us up, or whatever. So one of us asks "Why can't you just watch the CCTV footage?" To which the teacher says that he can't due to "legal reasons". What's the point in having CCTV if you can't even bloody use it?

Posted by Pokeh on Fri 7 August, 2009 3:58 PM

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It may be true that having cameras on teachers may have helped them help their students perform better.... but are we so limited with our imagination for this to be the accepted solution for the sake of pupil performance? I beleive we can still encourage great grades without intruding on the few privacies left.

Posted by CPet on Tue 11 August, 2009 2:37 PM

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I think in certain contexts it' a great idea. I was bullied a lot at school and I think CCTV would be a huge deterrent to a lot of bullies if the cameras are located in all those little nooks and crannies that the bullies think they can't get caught in. In classrooms I can't see the point as there are staff present who are supposed to be preventing bullying and encouraging learning. Using cameras to get teachers to do their jobs properly does seem like a bit of a backwards step, but I think it would bring a lot of peace of mind and security to bully victims.

Posted by Dave Clark on Thu 20 August, 2009 12:40 PM

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I had an opportunity to live in newcastle for about 2 years...As far as education in UK is concerned, the major setback is the attitude and behavior of children in this modern techie era. they start using mobiles, gadgets,etc that totally curb their skill level growth and for example a boy of 11 who lived by my side of ma home was asking me tabs regularly. i wish the CCTV's need to get installed so as to monitor children and kep them away form bullying, tussling with their buddies,etc. Rather than doing these the government and parents should step up in nurturing their kids with the right attitude, behavior, morality. etc which would take them into next level....This would probably enhance the growth of the country as the little buds are the pillars standing tall to hold the nation

Posted by Arun on Thu 27 August, 2009 7:12 PM

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A local teacher was falsely accused of hitting a year one pupil, and because no CCTV was installed it was a long process to come to a verdict. During this time the teacher was suspended and suffered humiliation and ultimately a tarnished reputation, despite having taught at the school for over twenty years.

Posted by Anonymous on Mon 2 November, 2009 11:53 AM

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