A university in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, has installed facial recognition systems in classrooms to monitor students' behavior, sparking a heated debate online.

江蘇省南京市一所大學在教室里安裝人臉識別系統以監控學生的行為，在網上引發了一場激烈的爭論。

China Pharmaceutical University recently installed the systems in two pilot classrooms as well as school gates, dormitory entrances, the library and laboratory buildings.

最近，中國藥科大學在兩個試點教室、校門、宿舍出入口、圖書館和實驗樓安裝了人臉識別系統。

Xu Jianzhen, director of the university's library and information center, told ThePapercn that the systems will help teachers check student attendance and monitor behavior during the lectures.

該校圖書與信息中心主任許建真向《澎湃新聞》透露，該系統將幫助教師檢查學生出勤率，并監控學生在課堂上的行為。

"In the past, some students just checked their attendance and ditched the class or asked other students to check the attendance for them. Now with facial recognition, that would no longer be a problem," he said.

“過去，一些學生就是出個勤然后就逃課，或者讓其他學生代聽。現在有了面部識別，這將不再是個問題。”

"The moment you enter the classroom, the camera will monitor you all the way through and can tell how long you lower your head, whether you're playing with a smartphone, whether you're dozing off or reading other books," he added.

他補充說：“當你進入教室的那一刻，攝像頭就會全程跟蹤，監控低頭多長時間，你是在玩手機，還是在打瞌睡，或者看小說。”

The news has raised wide debate on Chinese social media, with many questioning if the cameras will infringe on students' privacy.

這一消息在中國社交媒體上引發了廣泛的爭論，許多人質疑攝像頭是否會侵犯學生的隱私。

China Pharmaceutical University is not the first university to use facial recognition technology on campus. Many universities across the country have installed cameras at campus entrances to ensure safety.

中國藥科大學并不是第一所使用面部識別技術的大學。為了確保安全，全國許多大學都在校園入口處安裝了攝像頭。