Vidya Sethu is school software. Schools use it to keep their register, their gradebook and their fee ledger, and to tell parents what they need to know. This page says what the system stores, who can see it, and how to have it removed. It covers the website at vidyasethu.com, every school's own address on it, and the Vidya Sethu app for Android and iOS.
Who is responsible for a student's data
The school is. Each school decides what to record about its students, who among its staff may see it, and how long it is kept. In data-protection terms the school is the data fiduciary (or controller); Vidya Sethu is the data processor, acting on the school's instructions.
So a request to see, correct or delete a student's record goes to the school first. We act on such a request when the school asks us to, and we help any school that asks for help doing it.
What is stored
| What | About whom | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Name, username, e-mail address, phone number | Staff, students, parents | Signing in, and reaching a parent when the school needs to |
| Date of birth, gender, blood group, home address, emergency contact | Students | The school's own register, and knowing whom to call in an emergency |
| Admission number, class and section, enrolment history | Students | Placing a student in the right class and keeping their record |
| Attendance, leave applications | Students, staff | The daily register, and the absence alert a parent gets |
| Marks, grades and report cards | Students | The gradebook the school keeps and shares with parents |
| Fees charged, paid, waived; receipts | Students and their parents | The school's fee ledger and the receipt a parent is entitled to |
| Designation, timetable, absences and cover | Staff | Running the school day |
| Notification token for a phone, its platform and app version | Anyone signed in on the app | Sending alerts to that phone, and nothing else |
| Sign-in times and password-reset requests | Everyone | Security: spotting misuse of an account |
Passwords are never stored as you typed them: only a one-way hash, which cannot be turned back into the password. We do not collect location, contacts, photos, browsing history or advertising identifiers. There is no advertising in Vidya Sethu, and no profiling of students.
What the app does on your phone
The app is a window onto the same website, so it stores little on the phone: the fact that you are signed in, which school you chose, and - for parents - the pages you have opened. Three things are particular:
- Notifications. If you allow them, the phone is given a notification token by Google or Apple, and we keep it so alerts reach that phone. Turn notifications off, or sign out, and the token is revoked.
- Pages you have opened (parents). The app keeps the pages you have opened on your phone for up to 7 days so they open without internet; signing out removes them. The parents' website does the same in your phone's browser. Nothing is kept that you have not opened, and never your password.
- Files you open. A receipt or report card you download is handed to the phone and is yours; we do not track what you do with it.
Children
Most people in this system are children, and their records are entered by their school, not by them. A student signs in only to see their own timetable, attendance and results. Parents see their own children. We ask schools to obtain whatever consent the law requires of them before recording a child's details, and we keep nothing about a child beyond what the school needs to run the school.
How long it is kept
A school's records stay while the school uses Vidya Sethu, because a school needs its old registers, results and fee ledger — that is what a school record is for. When a student leaves, the school may keep the record (a transfer certificate may depend on it) or ask us to remove it.
When a school stops using Vidya Sethu, it may export its data, and we delete it within 90 days of the school asking. Backups are overwritten on their own cycle within a further 30 days.
Your rights
You may ask to see what is held about you or your child, to have a mistake corrected, or to have the record removed. Ask the school first — they hold the record and can act at once. If you cannot reach them, write to us at support@vidyasethu.com and we will help, after checking with the school that you are who you say you are.
Deleting an account is set out on the account deletion page.
How it is protected
Everything travels over HTTPS. Passwords are hashed. Each school's data is separated at the database level. Access is by role: a teacher sees their classes, a parent sees their children, an office user sees what the school has given them. We log sign-ins so misuse can be spotted.
If data is ever exposed, we tell the affected schools without undue delay, with what happened and what to do.
Changes
When this policy changes materially we update the date at the top and tell schools. Continuing to use Vidya Sethu after that means the new version applies.
Contact
Questions, or a request about your data: support@vidyasethu.com.