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Education service provider Educomp Solutions is sharpening its focus on "digital wellness" for school children by making cyber law education interventions an important part of pedagogy.
Understanding the growing interest among children for web-based content and the social media, it is making available almost similar experience through "community account", which could be moderated at each level.
In its SmartclassOnline e-learning for schools, it has packaged course curriculum with the power of Internet that helps schools, parents and students exchange information about the ward's performance realtime besides allowing students to socialise within the 'Smartclass' network by sharing content on the platform.
"The aim here is to keep children away from harmful effects (cyber bullying) and also make them enjoy the benefits of online study and Internet-like experience," said Krishna Kumar, regional divisional manager for Educomp. The app-cum-Internet-based service allows students to access the academic content while at home, and the parents have the flexibility to monitor their ward's activity.
Educomp is helping schools sensitise children about sections 67, 67(A) and 68 of the Information Technology Act, covering Internet crime and cyber terrorism. The initiative was driven by recent cases where children have been reported victims of cyber bullying and the growing incidence of cyber crime targeted at school children. Cyber bullying among other things involves individuals aged above 18 years indulging in entering online relationships with minors and share the aspects of private discussion and videos on the social media.
"We have found children below 13 years operating Facebook accounts and sharing content harmful to their age. Understanding this unusual development, many schools started mining the student profiles and are closely working with their parents to contain the trend," said N Purushotham, regional CEO of Educomp. He said educating children about cyber laws could help reduce their exposure to harmful content on the Internet.
Speaking on this, IT and cyber security expert Rakshit Tandon said that according to a private study it was estimated 30-40 per cent of school children in the country were at risk of cyber bullying . An adviser to the cyber crime cell of Uttar Pradesh's Agra Police, Tandon said the situation was quite alarming.
He said according to the Union home ministry's Cyber Crime Report 2013, of the 3,300 booked for cyber violations, 1,635 of them have been reported to be in age of 18-30 years, while 45 of them were found to be under 18 years.
