Data Policy
http://www.gsed.co.za is owned and run by Green Shoots Consulting (Pty) Ltd with registration number 2017/249520/07, a company incorporated in the Republic of South Africa (herein after referred to as “Green Shoots”).
The Green Shoots Suite; Maths Curriculum Online, MCO School Based Assessment, Maths@Home, MathsQuest, GS Teach and GS Insights; provide online mathematics programmes and data visualisations mapped to the South African curriculum for grades 3 to 9 (“the Service/s”).
By making use of the Services, any and all users of the Service, including users at the provincial education department, the school district, the school or learner (hereinafter also referred to as the “User”) confirm that they have read, understood and agree to the provisions of this Data Policy.
Personal Information
For purposes of this policy, "Personal Information" is defined in accordance with section 1 of Protection of Personal Information Act of 2021 (“POPIA”).
Green Shoots collects Personal Information with regard to the learners from the school (with a unique number called a emis number throughout South Africa) when the school voluntarily provides such information when registering a learner as a User of the Services, which include the learner: (i) name; (ii) surname; (iii) school; (iv) class; (v) unique identifier within the education system; and (vi) any other Personal Information which he/she provides to Green Shoots in connection with the Services.
Green Shoots furthermore collects Personal Information from the provincial education department, the school district and the school when these stakeholders voluntarily provide such information when registering to obtain access to the Services, which include the stakeholder: (i) name; (ii) surname; (iii) email address; (iv) mobile number; (v) unique identifier within the education system (SACE/persal number); and (vi) any other Personal Information which he/she provides to Green Shoots in connection with the Services.
Due to the nature of the Services provided, Green Shoots knowingly processes provided User data pertaining to children (in this context, individuals under the age of 18), which includes Personal Information, and, as provided for in this policy, Green Shoots will take all reasonable steps to protect this Personal Information. Green Shoots will, however, require the school to warrant that the appropriate consent has been obtained from a competent person prior to the Personal Information of children being submitted to the Services, as required in terms of section 35 of POPIA.
Green Shoots will only process Personal Information in the course of rendering the Services and is a responsible party for purposes of the processing of Personal Information as such, as provided for by POPIA. Green Shoots conforms to POPIA in terms of the collection, use and retention of Personal Information and this document sets out Green Shoots’ policy in this regard.
Green Shoots takes all reasonable steps to protect the Personal Information of the User and shall take appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure that all Personal Information communicated, including, without limitation, any digital communication or any Personal Information stored in digital form shall be secured against being accessed or read by unauthorised parties, using appropriate security safeguards, having due regard to generally accepted information security practices and procedures which may apply to it generally or be required in terms of specific industry or professional rules and regulations. The Personal Information received by Green Shoots is hosted by a credible South African based third-party service provider.
All User Personal Information are updated by Green Shoots on an annual basis. To enable Green Shoots to keep the User’s Personal Information accurate, current, and complete, the User is requested to contact Green Shoots through its support office verification process to correct or update any Personal Information. This is to ensure that the integrity of the information is not compromised. Green Shoots will take reasonable steps to update or correct Personal Information in its possession.
POPIA gives the User the right to access information held about him/her. Any access request may be subject to a small administrative fee to meet our costs in providing the User with details of the information we hold about the User. The User may also email us at [email protected] to request that we delete his/her Personal Information from our systems. Green Shoots will use commercially reasonable efforts to honour the User request. Green Shoots may retain an archived copy of the User’s records as required by law or for legitimate business purposes (and if so, we will explain this to the User at the time).
Green Shoots guarantees that no Personal Information or other data of the User will ever be passed to external agencies or third parties for any reason unless Green Shoots is required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to (i) comply with a legal obligation, (ii) protect and defend the rights or property of Green Shoots, (iii) act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of the Services or the public, or (iv) protect against legal liability.
Data generated by learner Users
Green Shoots specifically record that data generated by the learner Users through their use of the Services, shall remain at all times the property of the relevant education department and shall constitute confidential information.
Green Shoots shall hold the data generated by the learner Users in confidence and shall not make such data available to any third party or use such data for any purpose other than the provision of the Services.
The data generated by the learner Users through their use of the Services will be stored, processed and visualised on the Green Shoots dashboard. This data includes learner logins, per question answers, activity scores and time taken to complete an activity.
The levels of User access to the Green Shoots dashboard [GS Insights] displaying the data generated by the learner Users are set out in the schedule below:
|
Green Shoots may update this Data Policy from time to time. Any changes we may make will be posted to our website. The User’s continued use of the Services after any changes or revisions to this Data Policy shall indicate the User’s agreement with the revised terms.
The User should also feel free to contact us if he/she has any questions about Green Shoots’ Data Policy or the information practices of the Services.
The User may contact Green Shoots on the following email address: [email protected]
(Last revision date 23 June 2021)
The User should also feel free to contact us if he/she has any questions about Green Shoots’ Data Policy or the information practices of the Services.
The User may contact Green Shoots on the following email address: [email protected]
(Last revision date 23 June 2021)