Govt issues warning on Ed-tech companies, lists Do’s and Don’ts for parents & students

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The Education Ministry has advised parents, students and all stakeholders in school education to be careful while deciding on opting for online content such as tutorials and coaching for competitive exams being offered by a host of Ed-tech companies.</p>
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It has come to the notice of the Department of School Education and Literacy that some ed-tech companies are luring parents in the garb of offering free services and getting the Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) mandate signed or activating the Auto-debit feature.</p>
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Following are the Education Ministry’s do’s and don’ts which need to be kept in mind:</p>
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<strong>Do’s</strong></p>
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 1.    Do a detailed background check of the ed-tech company that you want to subscribe to.</p>
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 2.    Look for student/parent reviews online on the ed-tech company for any registered grievance and marketing gimmicks. Also, provide your suggestions and reviews which may be   beneficial for others.</p>
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 3.    Avoid Automatic debit option for payment of subscription fee: Some ed-tech companies may offer the Free-Premium business model where a lot of their services might seem to be   free at first glance but to gain continuous learning access, students have to opt for a paid subscription.</p>
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 4.    Do read the terms and conditions before acknowledging the acceptance of learning software/device as your IP address and/or personal data may be tracked.</p>
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 5.    Ask for a tax invoice statement for the purchase of educational devices loaded with contents/app purchase/Pendrive learning.</p>
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 6.    Do verify the quality of the content provided by the ed-tech companies and make sure that it is in line with the syllabus and your scope of study and is easily comprehensible by your   child.</p>
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 7.    Record the evidence of spam calls/ /forced signup for any education packages without complete consent for filing a grievance.</p>
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 8.    Go through the child safety guidelines mentioned in the PRAGYATA guidelines by the Ministry of Education before using any ed-tech platform.       <a href="https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/pragyata-guidelines_0.pdf">(https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/pragyata-guidelines_0.pdf)</a></p>
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<strong>Don'ts</strong></p>
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 1.    Do not blindly trust the advertisements of the ed-tech companies.</p>
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 2.    Do not sign up for any loans of which you are not aware.</p>
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 3.    Do not install any mobile ed-tech applications without verifying the authenticity.</p>
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 4.    Avoid credit/debit cards registration on apps for subscriptions. Place an upper limit on expenditure per transaction.</p>
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 5.    Avoid adding your data like emails, contact numbers, card details, addresses etc. online as the data may be sold or used for later scam attacks.</p>
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 6.    Do not share any personal videos and photos. Use caution against turning on the video feature or getting on video calls on an unverified platform. Keep your child’s safety at the   utmost priority.</p>
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 7.    Do not subscribe to unverified courses because of their false promises.</p>
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 8.    Do not trust the “Success stories” shared by the ed-tech companies without proper check as they might be a trap to gather more audience.</p>
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 9.    Do not allow purchases without parental consent. To avoid in-app purchases; OTP based payment methods may be adopted as per RBI’s guidelines.</p>
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 10. Do not share your bank account details and OTP number with any marketing personnel. Beware of cyber fraudulent.</p>
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 11. Do not click on links or open any attachments or pop-up screens from sources you are not familiar with.</p>
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<strong> Government initiatives that may also be explored before the purchase of content:</strong></p>
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 Free e-learning contents/textbooks/digital labs/ for all classes have been made available online ensuring quality and access for all by the Ministry of Education, its autonomous   organisations, and all States/UTs which may be effectively used for learning and can be accessed here (but not limited to).</p>
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<b>.          </b><a href="https://diksha.gov.in/">https://diksha.gov.in/</a></p>
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<b>.          </b><a href="http://www.olabs.edu.in/">http://www.olabs.edu.in/</a></p>
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<b>.          </b><a href="https://swayam.gov.in/">https://swayam.gov.in/</a></p>
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<b>.          </b><a href="https://www.nios.ac.in/">https://www.nios.ac.in/</a></p>
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<strong>·         SWAYAM PRABHA TV Channels for class 1 to 12-</strong></p>
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<a href="https://www.swayamprabha.gov.in/index.php/schooledu">https://www.swayamprabha.gov.in/index.php/schooledu</a></p>
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<strong>·</strong>         Official Learning portals/apps of the States/UTs</p>
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<strong>To Report any Untoward Incident, please use the following links:</strong></p>
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<b>.        </b><a href="https://ascionline.in/">https://ascionline.in/</a></p>
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<b>.         </b><a href="http:// https://consumerhelpline.gov.in/">https://consumerhelpline.gov.in/</a></p>
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<b>.          </b><a href="http:// https://pgportal.gov.in/">https://pgportal.gov.in/</a></p>