Introduction
Ghana International School collects, processes, and uses personal data of stakeholders, including students, parents, teachers, staff, directors, and alumni, to support its day-to-day operations and provide an internationally diverse school experience. This data may include names, addresses, phone numbers, identification numbers, email addresses, IP addresses, images, videos, health records, academic records, and financial statements.
Rationale
The primary purpose of this policy document is to safeguard and maintain all data that has been provided, for use by the School. The School has established procedures and measures to ensure that all data is accurately maintained, properly used, and accessed only by authorized personnel. This policy outlines the specifics of these measures.
The Policy also ensures that GIS adheres to the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843) of the Republic of Ghana, the School’s host country. Under the Data Protection Act, GIS is required to inform you about why we collect data, how we store the data, how long the data is retained and your rights as a data subject.
Data Collection Sources
As a school, we may receive data from various sources, including minors, students, parents or guardians, other organizations, other schools, local authorities, examination boards, and local and international organizations.
We also work with service providers such as teaching and recruitment agencies, social services, healthcare providers, police and law agencies, as well as third-party services like social media platforms, marketing agencies, electronic marketing systems, and school management systems. Additionally, we work with suppliers, vendors, and accrediting agencies who provide evaluators with mandatory quality assurance reviews.
Information We Collect
We may collect the following types of information:
- Personal Information: This includes names, contact details (such as phone numbers and email addresses), date of birth, student information, parent information, staff information, and other data provided voluntarily through our forms or registration processes.
- Health information
- Attendance information
- Academic records
Purpose of Data Collection
Our school collects data for educational and administrative purposes. Process admissions, manage student records, communicate with parents, and administer educational programs, recruitment, accreditation evaluations, exchange programs, partner schools, experiential trips, conferences, and competitions. We also collect data for school activities and events such as the PTA Bazaar, Sponsored Walk, UN Day, Ghana Day, and TIME Conference. Furthermore, we collect data for internship and college applications, alumni news, security and safety assurance (including health and emergencies, staff and student accountability), and legal and regulatory requirements. Finally, we may take photos to record learning and development and share progress information with parents for advertisement marketing, and promotional purposes.
Data Processing
When schools collect data, they have the option to use it for various purposes. However, parents have the right to opt out, especially when it comes to using their child’s photographs for promotional activities.
Parents can write to the school to withdraw their consent. It is important to note that the school may share data with third-party providers such as meal providers, financial institutions, telecommunication companies, educational, and software providers, travel companies, sponsors, and HR systems, among others. Data may also be shared with students, parents, and alumni. In some cases, this information may be shared with higher education institutions, sister schools, and other private entities.
Legal Basis or Processing Information
We process your personal information based on the following legal grounds:
- Consent: For specific activities, we will ask for your consent before collecting or using your personal information.
- Contractual Obligations: Processing information to fulfill our contractual obligations to you (e.g., enrollment agreements).
- Legal Compliance: Where necessary, to comply with legal or regulatory obligations.
- Legitimate Interests: For purposes related to the school’s legitimate interests, such as improving services and security.
Disclosure of your Personal Data
We do not sell, rent, or lease your personal information to third parties. However, we may share information:
- With Service Providers: Third-party providers that support our website operations, such as web hosting only for operational purposes. Third-party providers such as meal providers, financial institutions, educational software providers, travel companies, sponsors, and HR systems.
- With Regulatory Authorities: Where required by law or for compliance with court orders, government requests, or applicable regulations.
- With Parent and Legal Guardians: As necessary, for educational or health-related purposes.
- With students, parents, and alumni.
- Higher education institutions, sister schools, and other private entities.
Parents may also fill out forms to update personal information with the school on a regular or periodic basis.
Data Safety and Protection Measures
At GIS, we take data safety and protection seriously and employ appropriate measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, alteration, or destruction. As a data controller, we are committed to achieving the privacy objectives outlined in our policy. We involve everyone in our efforts to raise awareness about privacy through various mediums.
Sensitive data is handled with special care. Personal data received by GIS is securely stored on school devices (servers) with up-to-date virus software and firewalls. We encrypt hard drives, memory cards, and other storage devices to ensure maximum protection.
We encourage stakeholders to use strong passwords and never share them. Personal details should only be sent via email if encrypted. Computers and devices should always be locked when not in use, and screens with personal data should not be visible to strangers. Personal data, whether hard copy or soft, must be protected when taken out of school.
GIS uses the Ed-Admin School Administration and Information Management System, which assigns data recipients based on employee roles and data requirements. The entire system is managed by an administrator.
Data Retention
Personal information is retained/held only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy or as required by law. Once the retention period has expired, we securely delete or anonymize the information.
To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of personal data, the purposes for which we process the personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.
We will hold your personal information securely in digital format permanently unless you ask us in writing to dispose of the records. Any hard copy transcripts or documents retained after a student withdraws are retained for ten(10) years, after which the hard copy documents are securely destroyed.
Data Subject Rights
Data subjects have rights as provided for in the legislation that guides our school’s privacy policy. To process requests, one must complete a data subject access request form (DSAR) and provide one valid form of identification. Rights are as follows:
- The right to be informed: The School must provide clear and transparent information about our data processing activities.
- The right of access: GIS will grant the data subjects the right to access their information if an identity is provided.
- The right to amend: GIS will give data subjects the right to correct any inaccuracies in their information.
- The right to erasure: Requests can be made for the deletion of data that may have been unlawfully or lawfully processed.
- The right to prevent processing: Data subject has a right to ask us to stop processing data under certain conditions.
- The right to complain: Compliant of any form can be done in writing to the school.
- The right to object: Data right has a right to disapprove the use of their data under certain conditions.
Our website may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of these third-party sites, and we encourage you to review their privacy policies.
Links to External Websites
Our website may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of these third-party sites, and we encourage you to review their privacy policies.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in legal requirements or our privacy practices. Changes will be posted on this page, and the updated date will be indicated at the top of the policy.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:
Ghana International School
2nd Circular Road, Cantonments, Accra
School Contact Email: prinoffice@gis.edu.gh
School Contact Phone Number: 030 277 7163; 0303 979198
Last Updated: [Date]
Thank you for visiting the Ghana International School website at www.gis.edu.gh. This privacy notice explains what personal data (information) we hold about you, and how we collect, use, or may share that information.
By accessing, browsing, or otherwise using the school’s website, our online admission and student management system, you confirm that you have read, understood, and accepted the terms and conditions in this privacy notice. Please ensure you read it thoroughly, especially the sections detailing your rights to the personal information we collect about you.