Photo/Illutration Hiromichi Endo, left, Kumamoto city’s superintendent of education, receives a report from Yutaka Fujita, chairman of the city’s council for educational administration, on March 28 in Kumamoto. (Ryutaro Ito)

Kumamoto city’s board of education is considering the unprecedented measure of installing cameras in classrooms to prevent bullying and corporal punishment at elementary and junior high schools.

The plan, included in a report submitted by the city’s council for educational administration to Kumamato’s superintendent of education on March 28, underscores the drive to end bullying and abuse by instructors at schools.

But the proposal also raises questions about privacy and whether cameras would really make a difference.

Installing cameras for purposes such as prevention of bullying is “unheard of,” a senior official of the education ministry said.

The 16-member council includes university professors, lawyers, school principals and representatives of parents.

The board of education is expected to respect the contents of the report and proceed with deliberations.

“Opinions from children who have been bullied show they would like cameras to record the bullying,” the council’s report states. “Cameras can be expected to serve as a deterrent to bullying and violent behavior in the classroom.”

The report also says cameras will have the effect of checking for corporal punishment or other inappropriate behavior of teachers and staff, as well as suppressing unreasonable demands from parents.

On the other hand, the report said concerns about privacy violations and leaks of video footage should be expected.

“It is necessary to carefully consider such issues by, for example, implementing the system in model schools ahead of others, and further examining the location and timing of the camera installation,” the report states.

According to the ministry, there are no uniform rules nor legal regulations for installing cameras in classrooms.

Currently, it is left to the discretion of the installer.

Hajime Arai, a professor at Kansai Gaidai University who specializes in the field of student guidance, said he understands why the idea of installing cameras is being raised to address the problem of bullying.

“However, when a child who is being bullied says, ‘I want it recorded with a camera,’ it may be a sign that the bullying is not being dealt with properly by teachers, and that a relationship of trust has not yet been established,” he said. “It seems there are still things that can be done to prevent bullying from going unnoticed.”

Arai said bullying is not limited to classrooms. Victims can easily be attacked through social networking services, for example.

“There is also a possible negative effect of being constantly monitored, which deprives both children and teachers of a sense of spontaneity,” he said. “It is necessary for children, parents, teachers and community members to have a thorough discussion and reach a consensus.”

(This article was written by Ryutaro Ito, Chika Yamamoto and Noriko Yahiro.)

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