Online learning platforms have accelerated tremendous growth since the inception of the Covid pandemic. Learning platforms such as Khan academy and BYJU's had shown significant rise in the enrolment figures of candidates willing to pursue online education. The Covid-19 pandemic, at one time, depicted a picture that online education is the only future as schools and colleges were forced to shut down. However, accessing online education was not easy for every student due to several hindrances. The right to access online education can be hindered by data packs, electricity etc. The state has to look into the fact that economic, cultural, or social barriers are not restrictions for a child to access online education. Online education has been emphasized in different educational policies; several judicial pronouncements but lack effective mechanism to put it in the right place. The most ignorant part is the collection, storage, and dissemination of students' personal data, as the shift from physical to online mode of education involves data transfer of students either directly or indirectly.
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A student is subject to privacy risks while accessing the right to online education. Those privacy risks involve on-camera surveillance, eye-tracking software’s, data profiling through the background images visible on video classes. In order to curb such issues, the data protection authorities all around the globe owe a duty to lay down certain guidelines to the educational institutions regarding the privacy safeguards while conducting online classes. One such example of it is Hungarian Data Protection Authority which during covid-19 pandemic came out with guidelines regarding privacy concerns in online classes. The authority emphasized on the principles of data minimisation and purpose limitation as envisaged under General Data Protection Regulation.
Data minimisation principle reads as “adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed” and in view of this principle, the guidelines states that “the camera should be set up so that it should show primarily the educator and the teaching instruments (blackboard, projector) used by him and students should be shown if possible only if it is closely related to the presentation of the activities in class and is necessary for the elaboration of the teaching materials (e.g. presentation of the results of solving a task in a small group for the other students)”. Purpose limitation principle reads as “data collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes; further processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes shall, in accordance with Article 89(1), not be considered to be incompatible with the initial purposes” and in view of this principle, the guidelines state that “the classes or lectures streamed should not be recorded or stored because they would not be stored within the framework of traditional education and such recording could be suitable for the abuse of students or educators (for instance, eventual risk of on-line harassment)”.
The government of India in National Education Policy, 2020 had focused on developing digital infrastructure for online learning. Setting up National Education Technology Forum (NETF) to ensure wider reach of online education has been highlighted in the policy (Web Desk, 2020). In reference to physical attendance of children to schools, the state government and local authority in model rules under right to children to free and compulsory education act, 2008 have been entrusted with an obligation that no student should be deprived of access to schooling due to social and cultural factors (Department of Higher Education). India is a signatory to The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Article 13 of the said international instrument emphasizes on the right to education. Article 2 of the covenant reads as “Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to take steps, individually and through international assistance and co-operation, especially economic and technical, to the maximum of its available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the present Covenant”5. The phrase “especially economic and technical, to the maximum of its available resources” needs to be given due consideration. It suggests that each member country undertakes for economic and technical utilization of resources in order to fully realize the rights.