Security at all levels of education is a growth market, but the attractiveness of some parts of this may be strained by a test case we expect to be brought before the courts within the next few months. The case will be about biometrics and privacy, and is likely to stem from the growing use of fingerprint recognition systems in primary and secondary schools that are being used to take attendance, to manage library borrowing and to manage school meals.
While opposition to the use of biometrics for passports and ID cards may now be a lost argument, the right of pupils not to use these systems looks set to be tested at law.
No-one knows exactly how many UK children have had their biometric data stored by schools and their suppliers but it almost certainly now runs into the millions. While this issue may vex some parents enough to launch legal action, it apparently does not worry either the DfES or the Information Commissioner, according to Micro Librarian Systems posting the following on their web site.: ‘We have received letters from both the Information Commissioner and the Department for Education and Skills confirming that they have no data protection concerns as a result of using this technology in school libraries.’
While the use of biometrics in schools may seem a small part of a larger debate there are direct links both to the pending UK identity card and the proposed EU Biometric identity card being developed by the European Justice and Home Affairs Council.
