UP college instals CCTV in boys' toilet to prevent cheating in exams

Installation of CCTV cameras in the boys' toilet of a college here in a bid to prevent students from cheating in examinations has come in for widespread criticism by various youth organisations.

Students of the Dharam Samaj Degree College or DS College were taken aback when they noticed the closed-circuit television cameras in the boys' toilet three days ago.

The college administration, however, has strongly defended the move.

"There were widespread reports that many students appearing in examinations hid chits in their pockets and undergarments which they would take out while visiting toilets," college principal Hem Prakash Gupta told reporters.

"Installation of such cameras would greatly help in curbing the use of such malpractices during examinations," he said.

Amit Goswami, belonging to a Hindu right wing organisation, said the move amounted to grave intrusion into the right to privacy of students.

He argued that there were many other alternative means to check cheating in examinations.

Some other youth organisations announced that they would take the matter to court.