The Indian Union education ministry on Thursday issued an advisory for parents and students addressing the soaring scams in the online education space. In the issue, the education ministry has advised all stakeholders to be cautious while utilizing e-learning platforms.
It has appeared in the department of school education and literacy’s notice that ed-tech companies are manipulating parents. These companies initially offer free services which lure the public to subscribe to their tutorials, courses, and content on companies’ platforms. However, things are not as they seem as these platforms make parents sign an electronic fund transfer mandate. In other words, they sign an auto-debit feature that automatically takes away money from parents’ accounts.
According to the ministry, the auto-debit option should be avoided at all costs. With an active auto-debit feature, children purchase the paid features of these platforms as they start accessing more classes without even realizing it. Considering the growing deceptions in online learning, the education ministry has put out a list of dos and don’ts for the public. Most fraud ed-tech companies show their platform as completely exemplary but it’s up to the parents and schools to evaluate them. This can be done better by following these dos and don’ts.
Inside the advisory, people are instructed not to install any mobile application without checking the authenticity of the source. Still, if installed it is best to set an upper limit on spendings per transaction. The ministry has also urged parents to not sign up for any sort of loan for spending on such platforms. They have suggested resisting pop-up screens and using OTP-based payment methods for more secureness during payments.
The education ministry has warned about the misuse made by fraud companies of personal photos as well as videos. They have urged people to be careful while turning on the video or getting on video calls with an inauthentic program. As per the advisory, it is important to read terms and conditions with attention before subscribing to any e-learning website.
Even so after subscribing subscribers can always demand a tax invoice from the companies just to ensure genuineness. Moreover, the government has also asserted concern regarding the integrity of courses and syllabus taught in them. The syllabus must align with the child’s capability.