Schools across India are embracing AI for smarter teaching, but a shadow looms over student data security. The debate has evolved from tech’s perks to protecting vulnerable young users from digital threats.
UN entities including UNICEF and UNESCO issued a unified plea for safeguarding kids’ info harvested by AI edtools.
America’s PowerSchool breach in 2025 leaked crown jewels of 60 million pupils and staff, highlighting systemic frailties.
Domestic findings are equally alarming: 200,000 cyber incursions and 400,000 data spills hit Indian academia in nine months.
Pratham’s pact with Anthropic unleashes ATM, harnessing Claude to digitize handwriting, spawn tests, rubric-grade, and personalize bilingual insights.
The DPDP Act stands sentinel, insisting on validated parental okay for under-18 data handling, bolstered by draft protocols for OTP-ID consent.
Reality check: parents may not fathom images of their child’s work zipping to US clouds for model munching. This disconnect poses compliance hazards.
To harness AI’s power safely, edtech must embed privacy-by-design. Clear consents, data sovereignty, and oversight will ensure innovation serves, not endangers, the next generation.