CCTVs, a bane or boon? That is the question that was asked when a teachers’ body at the Aligarh Muslim University demanded immediate removal of CCTV cameras installed at the campus for “security reasons”. They called it an “unacceptable encroachment” into privacy of people at the institute.
There are many colleges and schools in the capital that already have CCTV cameras installed in the campus for security reasons and seem to be fine with the “scrutiny” as some would call it.
Interestingly, most of the teaching faculty as well as students believe that cameras are a must for safety. And as far as they are installed in the campus and not in the class, it is not a big deal.
Dr Rachana Sharma, associate professor, Faculty of Philosophy, Hansraj College, says that cameras installed in classrooms have a possibility of making people uncomfortable as it would keep an eye on the procedure of teaching, teachers and students’ conversation on various issues. “It would be a little too much. But a camera in the campus is necessary. After one of the students in the college hostel was allegedly found dead recently, authorities are even planning to install a camera in the hostel. If it would have been there earlier, solving the case would have been easier,” says Dr Sharma.
Prof. Anubha Yadav, assistant professor, Faculty of Journalism, Kamla Nehru College, says that if security is coming on the cost of little invasion into our privacy then I don’t think it is too much to think about. “And installing cameras in the college campus means just a security check. It is not possible to keep an eye on every individual manually, so cameras are the most economical, practical way of doing that,” she says.