Biometrics In Our Schools

The use of biometrics for identification and authentication is taking hold throughout our schools.

Biometric identification is not a new concept. The ancient Egyptians used bodily characteristics to identify workers to make sure they didn't claim more provisions than they were entitled – just like governments today are looking at biometrics to lessen benefit fraud.

Lower costs and increased accuracy has many school administrators looking to biometrics as means of authenticating students. Price is no longer an obstacle... today, biometric systems can be priced competitively with barcode readers, swipecard (magnetic stripe) readers and PIN pads.

Though the number of schools in the UK utilising biometrics is not known, the growth in demand from schools wishing to inplement the VeriCool fingertip recognition software is enough to convince us that biometrics hold the key to solving the challenges of authentication in campus environments.

Convenience appears to be cited as one of the main advantages of the VeriCool school attendance system. With biometrics, there is no need to remember a password or carry an ID card. You simply place your finger on a biometric reader that takes a picture of your finger, digitizes it and then compares it against a database of templates. For students, this is a major plus, since it eliminates the need to constantly be replacing lost or stolen IDs and it eliminates the possibility of sharing ID cards.

Secondly, biometrics are far superior to current password / PIN and ID card identification techniques for establishing identity. It's very easy to "share" a password or PIN with someone and worse yet, they are easily forgotten or unknowingly obtained by someone looking to access your personal records or assume your identity. In the campus environment, biometrics can help eliminate:

• Buddy Punching;
• Students logging into systems using a teacher or administrator username and password to access protected information;
• Identity theft.

If you are put off by the cost to implement biometrics in your school, you shouldn't be. The cost to deploy a fingerprint biometric system is far lower than the costs to issue and manage ID cards and passwords. And they provide far better security since you can't "borrow" or loose a finger like you can an ID card or password / PIN.

In addition, solutions such as the VeriCool registration system can be used for a variety of other tasks including cashless catering and fire roll call.