Schools Get Rules On Biometrics

There are schools which use biometric systems for registration, meal payments and for taking books from libraries. This has prompted privacy concerns and uncertainty about the legal status of holding fingerprints from children. The guidance says schools must destroy data when pupils leave school and not share any such biometric information.

"Schools are well used to handling sensitive information like attendance registers, behaviour records and home addresses. But we are absolutely clear that they have to comply with data protection laws," says Schools Minister Jim Knight. "That means that this data can only be used for its stated purpose; cannot be shared with third parties beyond this stated purpose; and it must be destroyed when a pupil leaves their school."

Privacy Concerns

The advice from the government's school technology agency, Becta, addresses the kind of school administration systems which use a physical identification system, such as fingertip recognition. The VeriCool school attendance system utilises fingerprints to identify individuals arriving at school in a tactic to reduce truancy – pupils simply touch a fingertip reader to show they were in school or in an individual lesson.

Concerns raised over the use of biometric identification systems have largely originated from the way such biometric data is stored or who else might have access to such information. In addition, there have been disputes about the rules governing the collection and use of such data from young people.

The guidance from Becta says that schools should not store biometric data after pupils have left – and that any information can only be used for the specific purpose for which it was given. So if children are asked to give fingerprints for use in a library system, the biometric information can only be used in that specific context.

Protecting Information

The new guidelines reflect existing policies that the VeriCool Support Team adhere to and promote whenever a school is interested in installing a VeriCool school attendance system:

• When children leave school, or the original purpose no longer applies, schools will be expected to destroy this personal information.
• Schools are barred from handing over such information to any other organisation.
• Schools must have sufficient security to protect this data.

In addition, schools are being urged to get parents involved in discussions about the use of biometric systems, so that any privacy concerns or other doubts can be addressed. The schools minister says that many schools have seen the benefit of biometric systems, in simplifying administration, but that they need to keep parents aware of how information is being stored.

"I have seen at first hand how well these systems work. They can speed up lunch queues, remove the need for children to carry money and take away the stigma of singling out those on free school meals," says Mr Knight. "Moreover, they can enable schools to register pupils more easily as they move from class to class."