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A directive issued by the police, to obtain information about children studying in tribal schools in Wada Taluka in Palghar District, has caused outrage, with several groups questioning the intent of the police.
Later in the day, the directive was withdrawn on the orders of the district education officer.
The Wada Taluka Education Officer on Wednesday issued a letter requesting the principal of the ‘ashram shalas’ – boarding schools for tribal children – in the district to provide Wada police with details of all the students, such as their names, phone numbers, residential addresses and families’ net income, among others.
According to the letter, the information was sought in order to give these children free access to the education technology platform’s mobile app. The letter stated that Palghar Police under the leadership of Jan Samvad – a campaign to encourage interaction between police and the public, in conjunction with the Smile Foundation NGO Navi Mumbai – will provide free access to the ed-tech app for three years to students of grades 5 to 12.
However, many questioned whether it was appropriate for the police to collect such information. Describing the move as “very unusual data collection” by the police department, one of the teachers said, “If there is support from any NGO, such data has not been requested in the past.”
For some, the question of the net income of students’ families was the most surprising.
“These are boarding schools for children coming from poor and tribal backgrounds,” said one teacher, adding that the students did not have access to personal cell phones and so the ed-tech application service was “useless for most of them.” Deputy Inspector of Police (DSP), Sangeeta Shinde, who started driving, said, “The service is for those who are interested.” She said that after learning about the limited access to devices among these children, it was discussed to provide the service to their schools.
“For those interested, a mobile phone number is required to provide free access through a one-time password,” Shinde said, adding that the family’s net income was required to ensure that the child comes from a disadvantaged background.
Uma Ahuja, Chairperson of the Smile Foundation, said the initiative was launched in Palghar district after an interaction with DSP. “We have worked with many government agencies to provide underprivileged children with access to quality education through ed-tech.” Ahuja said.
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