Shreyashri Das, who recently joined an Institute as a Mass communication teacher said, “If we are taking such kind of steps how can we preach to the students that they should be truthful and conduct themselves in a certain way? Ethics is a grey area but a school or an institute should know better then to create such kind of id's.”

Facebook and Twitter have become places where everything from what one is having for lunch to who said what goes up as status update and quite naturally students also talk about teachers and make fun of them. Vinayak Chaddha (name changed), a student says, “We rarely name a teacher but we do talk about them in our own language, which no one other than my class or schoolmates would understand. The teacher in question can also understand but then since we don't take names, they have nothing to do.” Alekhya Bolla recounts an incident where her niece and nephews talked of the fact that they have joined Facebook but under pseudonyms so that their teachers do not know that it is them. What can one expect, given the Chennai incident!

In a world where teachers and schools are themselves blurring the lines between right and wrong, it is possible for students to respect their teachers? Ahmed said, “Teachers should have respect and faith for their children. Although gone are the days when pupils idolize their teachers but a good teacher always gets respect. I have taught for 31 years and till date non one has answered me back as I give my 100 percent to the job and the students know that.”

What some Chennai schools are doing is not illegal but is a criminal intent and there should be better ways to keep a child safe than resorting to something as low as creating a fake identity. We should be careful as to the legacy we are passing on to the next generation for they would require it more than we do now.