Friday 2 September 2011

Stop Recording Our Children


It never ceases to surprise me how many people are affronted at this post, yet are happy for all children to be digitally fingerprinted every day they attend school.

Locally, the new school campus has this equipment and when I questioned the janitor about its effectiveness in recording attendances, he muttered something about breakdowns and lots of computer input.


Some months ago I wrote about how schools may be breaking EU law using biometric fingerprints for pupils, but nothing has been heard from those who protested.  Now a stronger group in England has joined with other organisations and campaigned in London yesterday to decided how they should take on a government which has not only ignored the issue of taking pupils' fingerprints, but has allowed them to pay for the fingerprint systems using e-Learning credits.

Scottish parents don't seem to mind if their children are fingerprinted daily without their knowledge and their fingerprints are added to a database.

This issue can't be allowed to be a nine-day wonder. Parents must be given the choice as to whether their children's fingerprints are forever recorded on a government database.

Good luck to those in England who are doing their utmost to highlight the matter.  I would much prefer teachers to return to the daily paper record system of physically marking attendance first thing every morning (and these days afternoon too).  That is also a teacher-pupil interaction for those who like to tick boxes.

12 comments:

Joe Public said...

Perhaps everybody who works in Education should have to log-in via fingerprint every day.

All teachers, admin-staff, caretakers, visitors, and, every single person in the Dept of Education.

I wonder if the trend would then be so popular?

subrosa said...

I wonder too Joe. The answer is for councillors and any paid politician to have to use this form of identification. That may bring it to their attention.

Unknown said...

Appreciate your point. Must be quicker than paper and less disruption. Plus in event of a crime/abduction, finger print is better than a tick.

Apogee said...

I would suggest that if tptb are expected to use this system, they will inevitably consider it is so good that we must use it as well.

subrosa said...

That's my point John. Just because it's quicker it doesn't mean to say it's better.

So schools are now crime centres and that's why we need an enormous database to keep our children's fingerprints? Naw, don't buy that one.

subrosa said...

It'll come, Apogee, it'll come.

Stewart Cowan said...

Totally agree S/R. You cannot create a police state without treating everyone as potential criminals.

An idea might *seem* to have merits, but when the dangers or potential for danger far outweigh any perceived benefit then it should not go ahead.

And I think the benefits are only perceived.

Another point is that many parents neither seem to know nor care how the state treats their children when they're in its 'care'.

I guess we've all allowed ourselves to be mollycoddled too much.

subrosa said...

I guess we have too Stewart, in the desire to give our children a better life.

Stewart Cowan said...

I think that's another good point, S/R. I do wonder who will fare better as adults of the youngsters I know, the ones who get neglected or the ones who are spoiled.

subrosa said...

In my experience Stewart, children from homes where they are 'neglected' tend, on average, to do rather better than those who are given their heart's desires.

Stewart Cowan said...

I can believe that. Children need prepared for the real world, not that neglecting them is the answer of course, but you know what I mean!

subrosa said...

Aye, I know what you mean Stewart.

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