Harry Potter: 10 Weird Rules A Student At Hogwarts Must Follow
3. All Students Under The Age Of 17 Must Be Tracked
It seems that there's one thing shared equally between the Muggle and Wizarding world, and that's paranoia about being observed by your government. The only difference is that in our non-magic world, such thoughts are considered ridiculous conspiracies, whereas, in the land of magic users, it's an enforced rule.
Technically, The Trace is not a rule that Hogwarts itself established, rather The Ministry of Magic. However, it's something that the students must abide by when attending the school. It is an enforced tracking law that observes every student under the age of seventeen to ensure they don't perform magic outside of the school grounds.
The idea of being constantly observed and judged by actions made outside of school grounds is bizarre and can even lead to some massive miscommunications, as was most evident when Harry almost got expelled for wielding a Patronus spell in self-defence.
You have to imagine that governmental paranoia runs rampant throughout the halls of Hogwarts, as no young student is safe to act of their own accord without the Ministry watching.