Closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs) have become vital “sources of evidence” for schools to withstand the onslaught of allegations or doubts raised by parents, several school principals said.

The third eye was installed primarily for safety and surveillance in the schools. But over the years, it has increasingly become a tool to “protect” schools or teachers.

In instances of students engaging in a brawl and hurting themselves, complaints or allegations of abuse and bullying are better attended to with the help of CCTV footage that shows who was at fault.

Many private schools have every school space covered — classrooms, corridors, elevators, auditoriums, fields, canteens — so there is barely any blind spot.

Several principals said there had been instances of parents writing emails with “strong language almost bordering on threat”.

They can be pacified only if CCTV footage is available.

In one school, a parent wrote an email to the school complaining of bullying with a threat: “I will take you to court”.

In another school, the parents wanted to know how their child fell on the field and got hurt.

“Everyone (every parent) wants to see what happened so we show them. More than children, the CCTV cameras are for the protection of teachers and the school,” said Seema Sapru, principal, The Heritage School.

“Teachers are aware of the rules and regulations that they have to follow and understand the consequences more than the children or parents. They would never do something which goes against the school’s rules and yet they are blamed and so the footage mostly protects them,” she said.

Several principals said it was common for children to pick up an injury while playing and they return home with a bruise.

“There would be some parents who would say that the teacher was not on the field while the student got hurt or, worse, was beaten up by another student. When we show them the CCTV footage it is clear that nothing of that sort happened. It was an injury while at play and a teacher was very much there. The footage is an important source of evidence. In a day, on average, we have to check the CCTV footage twice or thrice,” said
Satabdi Bhattacharjee, principal, South City International School.

Some schools said the teachers couldn’t be present at all places all the time. That is where the CCTV cameras assume an important role in keeping a watch.

“Children often spin yarns of stories and, nowadays, parents believe their children on anything that they say against other children. If I have CCTV footage, I can fortify myself when parents demand an explanation,” said Nupur Ghosh, vice-principal, Mahadevi Birla World Academy.

One principal, who requested not to be named, also suggested that the cameras also play the “moral guardian in co-ed schools”.

“A CCTV acts as a deterrent,” he said.

Originally, CCTVs were installed for security and maintaining discipline in school.

“It now helps us to distinguish between an accident and an incident. Parents demand to know what had happened and CCTV footage gives an objective picture which we can show to parents. It helps us vindicate ourselves,” said Rodney Borneo, principal, St Augustine’s Day School, Shyamnagar.