Security Oxford

Biometrics has always been an emotive subject for some people, but a recent news story brings the topic back to the top of the ‘hysteria’ agenda. Mountain Ash comprehensive school in Wales has been running a scheme where children have been gaining access to scholl meals using fingerprint readers to initiate cashless payment. The principle of this is sound; Part of the appeal of biometric technology nowadays is that it can reduce the cost of credentials and be used for purposes such as this.

However, the reaction from some parents has been exceedingly negative. They are angry because they fear that their choldrens’ civil liberties are being breached with the itroduction of the biometric readers. An anonymous group of concerned parents asked,’ There are civil liberties issues with this system. Is it a back door way of softening future generations to accept biometric identification with no questions asked?

A number of educational establishments have installed biometric technology to save on the cost of cards and tokens, but the primary driver in the case of Mountain Ash was to circumnavigate bullying caused by the stigma of children receiving free meals due to low family incomes.The parents reactions raise a number of issues taht could thwart the take up of biometric technology in schools- one of its blossoming markets. Possibly the biggest issue is one of acceptance.

Despite the school’s reasoning for the installation of the readers, their use has been met with fierce criticism based around suspicion of the technology. Biometrics has struggled with the acceptance and judging by the reaction in Wales, it doesn’t show any signs of being taken to people’s hearts in the near future.

What does this mean for biometric technology in schools?If some parents can’t see past its use when it is employed in an attempt to prevent bullying, then you have to wonder what chance is has going forward. Would the reaction be any different if the school installed the technology to increase security on the premises, or would that still be an invasion of civil liberties?

Biometrics is misuderstood, and ignorance leads to fear, which leads to an overall rejection of the technology.