The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has launched a ‘Cyber Security Handbook’ to ensure safe and healthy digital habits among students.
This module covers topics relating to cyber safety, such as cyberbullying, including social exclusion, intimidation, defamation, and emotional harassment, online sexual abuse, cyber radicalisation, online attack and frauds, and online enticement.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has also issued an advisory to all secretaries at school education departments of all states to ensure the safety of students in online classes, said the Ministry of Education of India.
PRAGYATA guidelines for school heads and teachers describe the need assessment, planning, and steps to implement digital education while ensuring cyber safety and privacy measures.
Some of the measures include:
School leaders could consider conducting an informal survey to identify various ICT facilities available at home for each child. This data could be analyzed by school leaders to group or create differentiated plans.
Ensure that for each class, teachers, and students (i) mode of communication (ii) learning plans, and (iii) necessary well-being support has been identified.
Do not make the adoption of digital learning burdensome for students and their parents. Avoid setting unrealistic goals for students as well as yourself.
Involve teachers and representatives of parents in chalking out modalities of digital education. A systematic timetable (with detailed online and offline activities) for each class may be planned in consultation with all the teachers.
Children exposed to digital technologies/gadgets for a long time are prone to severe health issues. Hence seating with digital gadgets for longer hours or their excessive use can be avoided by designing age-appropriate schedules of digital education.
Students, Teachers, and Parents may be oriented on Dos and Don’ts of cyber safety and security.
Make students aware of cyberbullying and how to avoid getting bullied. Also, encourage them to refrain from cyberbullying.
If possible, parents and guardians may also be involved in the selection of appropriate resources for e-resources and ICT tools for their children.
The information was given by the Union Minister of Education, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
