The Issue of Privacy Ethics in a School Setting

The Issue of Privacy Ethics in a School Setting

 According to technological changes, the cases of data leakages are more experienced. The situation has, therefore, necessitated the need for seeking permission from the person before accessing any information that concerns him or her. For instance, in a school setting, the students themselves cannot allow their friends to access their school portals where a lot of their performances can be accessed. Others even cannot allow parents to access the performance unless they are forced to do so. The implication is, there are intense privacy and confidentiality in the information concerning the students. Circumstances may force the information to be accessed, but this ought to be done with the students’ consent. For example, the CSU is more concerned with the welfare of the students, and the only ways they can help the students and ensure that they were not experiencing any challenge in his or her stay in the institution are by accessing the information about the student. The program of tracking the students’ Wi-Fi will allow the school management to obtain adequate information about their students and their progress. Through the analysis of the information, they will be able to help the students alongside achieving their primary goals. The implication is that the program of having students’ data is beneficial not only to the school management but also to the students. Therefore CSU should espouse the program as long as it will observe the privacy of the students. This will involve seeking permission from them.

Some activities that CSU students might be involved in are not allowed, and if their information is accessed, it will mean that they will be highly monitored. A most substantial number of the students may not be willing to allow this kind of information to be accessed. In implication, the program will be a great risk to the students if conducted established without their consent. Additionally, a student may be afraid of their performance alongside other academic progress being revealed to many people. Many of them may opt to leave the studies if they come to realize later that such a program was implemented without their awareness. The long-term result of the program implementation, instead of increasing the first years’ retention, will contribute to high rates of them leaving the should and maybe joining others where their privacy is upheld.

The informed consent does involve not only the student’s awareness but also the parents’ awareness of their students’ privacy. No parent will allow his or her child’s details to be accessed by everybody. If the CSU implements the program, then it is obligated to considering the long-term effects. Most parents will be happy when seeing their children’s privacy being promoted. The program implementation will have many benefits attributed to it, but if the issue of privacy ethics will not be considered, even the objective of the program will not be achieved. Otherwise, the number of students in the school will reduce due to the insecurity of their information.

However, although the student’s privacy should be considered, it should not be the limit or the barrier of the implementation of such a beneficial program. The students should realize that they will also benefit from the same program. The management can step in and offer financial assistance to those students who are needy. The only way the school can get to identify such students is by the implementation of the program. The only requirement for the program’s implementation is to communicate with the students and let them be aware of the program and also tell them about the potential benefits that they will get from the program.

Application of Principles of Ethics of Privacy

The implementation of the program will be effective if it observes the principles of ethics of privacy. The first principle is the principle of respect for persons. Respect for a person is a principle that calls for the preservation of one’s privacy and dignity. The research will be effective and mutually beneficial if there is an agreement between the researchers and the information source, students. If the students will be informed about the program and that they are assured of privacy about their information, then there will be no big deal in implementing the program. The second principle is the principle of beneficence. The principle of beneficence calls for implementers of the program not to harm the students. The harm here can be of different types, but generally, the principle requires that the benefits to the students should exceed the risks. The program implementation has depicted more advantages not only to the CSU management but also to the students. These benefits, therefore, validate the implementation of the program. Generally, the program ought to be implemented with a condition; students’ privacy should be the prime concern during the implementation.

The moral reason for privacy is the students’ autonomy. The students ought to be recognized as autonomous beings. They should be allowed the maximum level of freedom. They should be allowed to choose to whom their information is accessible. Students should be allowed to lead their life.