Bullying on the rise as Maharashtra receives 30 complaints

Outsiders gain entry to closed groups of school and college classes, upload porn, abuse teachers and harass the students

As education has gone online, cyberbullying has become a new headache for schools, with 30 complaints from schools and colleges across Maharashtra received by the state's Cyber Cell. Hackers are using the medium to harass teachers and students during classes. Experts believe that hackers are harassing teachers for fun. They hack into online classes and insult teachers and also upload short porn videos. Teachers have been reluctant to report the incidents.

The issue was discussed recently at a webinar organised by the Maharashtra Cyber Cell.

Over 100 principals from the state participated in the event.

Maharashtra Cyber Cell SP Balasingh Rajput said that they are working on putting an end to the bullying. "There should be zero tolerance for such incidents. We appeal to people to report such incidents at the nearest police station or through www.cybercrime.gov.in."

Also Read: Mumbai: City parents don't want to risk sending their kids to school

Use secure apps

Dr Rakesh Kriplani, a cyberpsychologist, who addressed the webinar, said that often, bored students may share links of their classes with others. This leads to cyberbullies entering classes. They look for chances to target and harass students, make obscene comments, send pornographic videos and sometimes exit the class after abusing teachers.

Sources shared the screenshot of an Instagram account inviting students to send class links for 'raids'

"Schools must use only secure apps to hold lectures online. Students must also not share links," Dr Kriplani said. "Cyberbullies enjoy this because they feel they have spoiled something," he added.

Meenakshi Bhatia, principal, St. Xavier's School, Nagpur, said, "When our classes started, many unwanted people got access. They would make inappropriate comments and exit. This would disturb the class. As per the information received through the webinar, we have counselled children and parents to not share the lecture links."

Neeru Kapai, director of Modern School, Nagpur, said, "Often, students come online only to mark attendance. They switch off their cameras and start playing games. I appeal to parents to focus on these aspects."

Hackers make quick exits after making inappropriate comments during classes. Representation pic

Another city school's principal, on condition of anonymity, said, "We too have had incidents where unknown people would access the class and make inappropriate
comments."

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