The case shows that it is expedient to use the electronic diary for the state system, say the Ministry of Education and Culture
DANS and the Commission for the Protection of Personal Data will check the sale to a British company of the educational platform “School”, whose electronic diary is used by most Bulgarian schools. The institutions were referred by the Ministry of Education and Science after principals, teachers and parents publicly expressed concerns about the protection of personal data.
The MES specify that they currently have no contractual relationship with the platform. However, about 1,700 of over 2,000 schools are subscribers to “School”.
The sale of the platform to the British company does not endanger the personal data of students and teachers, reassured the co-founder of “Shkolo” Miroslav Jokanov.
The new owner is “Juniper Education”, which works with over 14 thousand schools in Great Britain. Its products include integrated software solutions for the classroom, administration, human resource management and parent engagement in the educational process using technology and education expertise.
“The data from the electronic diaries – grades, absences, etc., are not the property of “School” and are not subject to sale.
The owner of this data is the schools. “School” is only a processing body”,
Jokanov wrote on Facebook. In addition, only employees of “Shkolo” OOD have access to this data
“The British company has no interest in the administrative data of the Bulgarian students. “Juniper” buys the Bulgarian product in order to integrate it in England. I repeat – no one in England is excited about Ivancho’s triples”, Jokanov also wrote.
“Honestly speaking, I am glad that the Ministry of Education and Culture has referred DANS and CPLD. The two institutions will find nothing of concern. This will dispel any doubts”, Jokanov later updated his post. According to him, the MES were “politically pressured to react”. He reminded that there are laws, regulations and certification procedures with which every administrator of personal data is obliged to comply. And there are commissions at both the Bulgarian (KPLD) and European (EDPS) levels that monitor the implementation of these laws and impose severe sanctions in case of suspected violations.
The creator of the first Bulgarian electronic diaries also explained that the purchase of the native product by the largest software company in England should be a source of pride. “In a few months, our engineers will have access to the data of 5 million English people because our software will process that data,” he added.
“School” is a particularly significant part of Juniper’s comprehensive range of software products, complementing our leading technology solutions, the choice of over 50% of schools in the UK, says Chris Scarth, CEO of the British company, quoted on the website of BG platform.
After the acquisition
users of “Shkolo” in Bulgaria will continue to receive the support, attitude and innovations,
which they are used to and expect from the team, assure the educational platform.
“I hope nothing will be changed for users. The electronic diary of “School” is the most widespread in the system. Acquiring the company from another is a normal business practice. The value of the company depends very much on its users and in this sense it should not lead to negatives. On the contrary, in the long term it should lead to positive changes”, commented the head of the parliamentary committee on education Krasimir Valchev to “24 Chasa”.
However, Diyan Stamatov, who is the chairman of the Union of Education Leaders, did not hide his concerns about the sale. “School” is a successful Bulgarian product, why should it be sold to a foreign company? Was it valued on the Bulgarian market, asked the director of the capital’s 119th school. And from experience he said that the electronic diary of “School” was able to replace the paper documentation very quickly.
If it completely leaves the Bulgarian market, the best alternative to replace it will be the painfully familiar paper diaries, Stamatov claims.
The use of an electronic version of administrative documents in schools, in addition to paper ones, has been spelled out in a regulation of the Ministry of Education and Culture since 2016. Electronic diaries officially replaced paper ones only in 2022/23, although schools used the “School” one even before that. Last year, the National Electronic Information System for Preschool and School Education (NEISPUO) was introduced, which also supports electronic diaries that the state recommends to schools.
The case of “School” is indicative that it is appropriate to use the electronic diary service for the state system – NEISPUO, says the press release of the Ministry of Education and Culture from Wednesday. Currently, over 830 educational institutions work with NEISPUO.
2024-01-17 19:00:00
#DANS #check #deal #School #England #excited #Ivanchos #triples #assured #creator #platform #Obzor
