{"id":14074,"date":"2021-02-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-24T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/uncategorized\/24-02-2021\/cyberbullying-and-online-schooling\/"},"modified":"2021-02-24T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-02-24T00:00:00","slug":"cyberbullying-and-online-schooling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/24-02-2021\/cyberbullying-and-online-schooling","title":{"rendered":"Cyberbullying and Online Schooling"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>In News<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Recently, the <strong>Directorate of Education<\/strong> (DoE) under the <strong>Delhi government<\/strong> has issued a circular to all schools to <strong>educate students and their parents<\/strong> about the <strong>safe use of the Internet <\/strong>and <strong>sensitise them about cyberbullying<\/strong> and <strong>online threats<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Background<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In the wake of the<strong> Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns<\/strong>, the number of students attending <strong>online classes<\/strong> has increased exponentially.<\/li>\n<li>School education has shifted from the days of learning together in safe school environments to the <strong>online mode<\/strong> which is<strong> not that safe<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>According to a study by the <strong>India Child Protection Fund<\/strong> (ICPF), the <strong>online exploitation <\/strong>of children has increased.<\/li>\n<li>Internet spaces are growing and multiplying, however, <strong>data security, privacy and protection <\/strong>are <strong>inadequate to keep a check<\/strong> on this.<\/li>\n<li>Increasing activities related to <strong>child sexual abuse material<\/strong> indicates a sharp rise in <strong>demand for online child pornography<\/strong> during the lockdown.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Cyberbullying<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It involves the <strong>use of electronic communication to bully a person<\/strong>, typically by <strong>sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>It also involves <strong>posting pictures or videos aimed at harassing someone<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>A <strong>wide range of social platforms<\/strong>, including chat rooms, blogs and instant messaging <strong>are used <\/strong>in cyberbullying.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Impacts<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Affects a significant number of children and adolescents and infringes their rights to education and to health and well-being.<\/li>\n<li>Negative effects on academic achievement, mental health, and quality of life in general.<\/li>\n<li>Often prevents teachers from imparting quality education through digital platforms.<\/li>\n<li>Acts against the provision of safe, non-violent and inclusive learning environments for all.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cyberbullying Includes<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Posting hurtful, nasty rumours or comments on updates, pictures and videos shared by an individual on websites.<\/li>\n<li>Uploading embarrassing photographs online without the person&#8217;s permission.<\/li>\n<li>Excluding individuals of different cultural, socio-economic backgrounds from online groups and forums.<\/li>\n<li>Stealing someone&#8217;s account password and sending unwanted\/inappropriate messages from that account to harass other individuals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>It is a <strong>punishable offence<\/strong> under the <strong>Information Technology Act, 2000<\/strong> and the <strong>Indian Penal Code <\/strong>(IPC).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Recommendations and Way Forward<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It is imperative to <strong>make children and their parents aware<\/strong> of the <strong>safe use of the Internet<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>It is essential that<strong> everyone is aware of the risks<\/strong> that could be associated with being connected to the Internet.<\/li>\n<li>Schools should<strong> refer to and share guidelines<\/strong> on \u201c<strong>Safe Online Learning in Times of Covid-19<\/strong>\u201d which were jointly developed by the <strong>National Council of Educational Research and Training<\/strong> (NCERT) and the <strong>United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation<\/strong> (UNESCO).\n<ul>\n<li>The booklet of guidelines is aimed to <strong>sanitise the digital space<\/strong> and <strong>ensure that all stakeholders<\/strong> including teachers, students, and parents <strong>are safe<\/strong> as moved to digital modes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Prevention and Countering Cyberbullying<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Do not respond:<\/strong> After being bullied, a person must not respond or retaliate by doing the same thing as it may make matters worse.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Collect as much information as possible:<\/strong> A person should take a screenshot and keep a record of it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Block and report:<\/strong> One should block the offender and report on the social media platform immediately, which is available on most online platforms.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Talk about it:<\/strong> Trusted adults like parents and teachers should be informed about the bullying incident.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be private:<\/strong> Social media privacy settings should be kept high and connections should not be established with people not known offline.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be aware:<\/strong> A person should remain updated with all the preventive and security measures in the cyber world.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"width:735px\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align:top; width:468.0pt\">\n<p><strong>National Council of Educational Research and Training<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It is an<strong> autonomous organisation<\/strong> set up in <strong>1961 <\/strong>by the Government of India.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Objective:<\/strong> To <strong>assist and advise <\/strong>the Central and State Governments on policies and programmes <strong>for qualitative improvement in school education<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Functions<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Undertake, promote and coordinate research in areas related to school education.<\/li>\n<li>Prepare and publish model textbooks, supplementary material, newsletters, journals and develops educational kits, multimedia digital materials, etc. organise pre-service and in-service training of teachers.<\/li>\n<li>Develop and disseminate innovative educational techniques and practices.<\/li>\n<li>Collaborate and network with state educational departments, universities, NGOs and other educational institutions.<\/li>\n<li>Act as a clearinghouse for ideas and information in matters related to school education.<\/li>\n<li>Act as a nodal agency for achieving the goals of Universalisation of Elementary Education.<\/li>\n<li>Also interacts and works in collaboration with international organisations and offers various training facilities to educational personnel from developing countries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>It is an<strong> implementation agency for bilateral cultural exchange programmes<\/strong> with <strong>other countries<\/strong> in the field of school education.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It was established in <strong>November 1945<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Objectives<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Attaining quality education for all and lifelong learning.<\/li>\n<li>Mobilising science knowledge and policy for sustainable development.<\/li>\n<li>Addressing emerging social and ethical challenges.<\/li>\n<li>Fostering cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and a culture of peace.<\/li>\n<li>Building inclusive knowledge societies through information and communication.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>UNESCO&#8217;s programmes contribute to the achievement of the <strong>Sustainable Development Goals<\/strong> defined in <strong>Agenda 2030<\/strong>, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015.<\/li>\n<li>It has <strong>193 Members<\/strong> and <strong>11 Associate Members<\/strong>. <strong>India <\/strong>joined UNESCO in <strong>1946<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Headquarters:<\/strong> Paris, France.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/cities\/Delhi\/schools-told-to-sensitise-students-on-cyberbullying\/article33917730.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source: TH<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In News Recently, the Directorate of Education (DoE) under the Delhi government has issued a circular to all schools to educate students and their parents about the safe use of the Internet and sensitise them about cyberbullying and online threats. Background In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns, the number of students [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2023\/07\/5987495current-affairs (1).jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}