Incident at Uni
I had a disturbing incident at my university yesterday which is a well reputed private uni in bd. I want opinions on whether this was acceptable or not.
I had an exam at 5, so before the exam started, I was standing outside the exam room for around 5 minutes studying from my phone. Then I entered the exam room with my phone inside my bag. I did not use the phone inside the exam hall.
After entering, one of the invigilators told me to give him my phone and unlock it. He then went through my phone, opened my ChatGPT tabs, and checked my chats without my consent.
After the exam ended, I calmly asked him why he checked my phone and whether he actually had the right to do that. He said he did. He claimed he suspected I was trying to look through the glass window to peek at the question paper before the exam. That accusation was completely false. I told him that even if I had checked my phone, I did it outside the exam room, not inside.
He then told me to come with him to the control room if I had any complaint. I went with him, but once there, he started talking over me and repeating that I was trying to see the questions through the glass. At one point I laughed out of disbelief because the accusation sounded absurd to me.
After that, one of the control room members threatened to physically assault me, saying I was “disrespecting” the teacher by laughing. Another member started asking about my father’s profession and mocked me over my CGPA and completed credits instead of addressing the actual issue.
I understand universities need to prevent cheating, but does that justify forcing a student to unlock their personal phone and going through private chats without consent? And is threatening a student or mocking their academic standing acceptable behavior from university staff?
I genuinely want outside opinions on whether this crossed professional or legal boundaries or if this is considered normal practice.
TIA