This story is from November 6, 2020

Online classes: Boys harassing girl students in Haveri

Besides connectivity problems and students being left out because they cannot afford laptops or smartphones, online classes have had another side effect in Haveri district. Contact numbers of many girl students are being misused by their male classmates and even third parties.
Online classes: Boys harassing girl students in Haveri
Representative Image
HAVERI: Besides connectivity problems and students being left out because they cannot afford laptops or smartphones, online classes have had another side effect in Haveri district. Contact numbers of many girl students are being misused by their male classmates and even third parties.
Girls’ contact numbers are available on WhatsApp groups formed to enable students to link to classes easily. Some of the boys in the class are using these numbers to make unsolicited calls.
Many girls say they receive inappropriate messages and phone calls late in the night. Some boys are also passing on contacts to third parties, who are harassing girls.
Many parents of girl students have complained to school authorities, who in turn have reported it to officials in the education department.
“Two SSLC students in our school were trying to contact girl students at odd hours using their contact numbers,” said an assistant teacher in a private school. “They were harassing some of them by sending inappropriate messages on WhatsApp. The girls’ parents brought the incidents to the notice of school authorities. We have removed the boys from the online classes and sent a report to the block education officer, Haveri.”
The teacher confirmed even outsiders were harassing girl students. “Our girl students are losing their peace of mind because of this.”
A parent who did not want to be named said, “Our daughter began receiving unwanted posts and SMS texts from her classmates during the night. It became too much to bear so she quit attending online classes.”
When contacted, Andaneppa Vadageri, deputy director of public instruction, Haveri district, said he is unaware of such incidents, but promised to look into it. “This is a serious issue,” Vadageri said. “I will find out inquire about it and will hold a special meeting to discuss the issue. We will take precautionary measures to curb such incidents and ensure safety of girls during online classes.”
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