Audio-video cameras could be installed in school classrooms without the consent of parents and teachers. The recordings can only be used for the investigation of possible cases of violence, not for the professional evaluation of the teaching staff. The Minister of Education, Ligia Deca, announced on Monday, March 25, the decision to amend the law. In Iasi, opinions are divided.
The audio-video surveillance systems would monitor the activity in the classrooms, but the recordings could only be used to investigate cases and notifications of violence or even cases concerning the protection of assets. Since it is prohibited by law, the recordings will not be able to serve for the professional evaluation of teachers.
Schools will be obliged to provide the audio-video recordings to control bodies and criminal investigation bodies when necessary. Access will be obtained on the basis of a written and reasoned request, addressed to the director of the educational unit, either by the parents or by the representatives of the institutions responsible for solving cases of violence.
Measure for all schools or only for problem schools?
The leader of the Union of Free Trade Unions in Pre-University Education (USLIP) Iasi, Laviniu Lăcustă, is of the opinion that this measure should be imposed only in educational units where there are problems, with the consent of the teaching staff.
“We are not opposed to a safety zone in educational institutions, because, unfortunately, we know of many cases, but this intrusion must also take into account the privacy of students and teachers. I understood that they will be used only in case there are problems, but I think that not all schools fall under this chapter. I think we should take into account the problem situations and put cameras only in those schools where it is necessary to install such surveillance systems. I think that this project could have been fined, because there was room for better”, declared the leader of USLIP Iasi.
Instead, the president of the Iasi Branch of the National Federation of Parents’ Associations, Constantin Neagu, claims that this change is natural, in the context of cases of violence in educational institutions, and should be applied to all schools. The only condition of application, according to him, would be compliance with the legal provisions regarding audio-video monitoring.
“I think that just as all public institutions are monitored, and we, when we enter somewhere, are warned that it is a video surveillance area, at school, teachers and students can endure the same rigors. We must not stigmatize and go only on a niche, because an incident can happen anywhere. I am one of those who, within the National Federation of Parents’ Associations, supported the introduction of surveillance cameras. I think that the installation of surveillance cameras to which only authorized persons have access is not a problem,” Constantin Neagu told “Ziarul de Iaşi”.
Currently, consent is required
The announcement was made by the Minister of Education, Ligia Deca, during a press conference held this week. “I considered it necessary to modify the legislative framework, so that schools can decide to install audio-video surveillance systems, to ensure the basis and protection of people and property, as well as as a measure to prevent acts of violence that may occur in the school space. These audio-video recordings can only be used for the purpose of investigating cases or reports of violence, respectively cases aimed at the protection of assets. Schools cannot use audio-video recordings for the purpose of professional evaluation of teachers, and this prohibition is explicitly provided for in the law”, stated Ligia Deca.
Currently, according to the Pre-University Education Law no. 198/2023, for the installation of audio-video systems in classrooms, the consent of both the students’ parents and the teachers is necessary.
