Everywhere you look, you find inadequate protection of student information. There’s an interesting article in the London Evening Standard:
Schools could be putting pupils’ personal data at risk by failing to store it securely, according to new research.
The study suggests that schools are increasingly collecting students’ biometric data, such as fingerprints, but do not always think about the security issues surrounding this.
It found that almost half of schools have regulations on personal data security that fall below a recommended minimum level.
It has been suggested that up to four in 10 secondary schools use fingerprinting or face-scanning systems for a number of reasons, including recording attendance, allowing pupils to check out library books, pay for lunch or access certain school buildings.
But a paper due to be presented at the British Educational Research Association’s (Bera) annual conference in Manchester warns that schools often do not have clear policies on how personal information should be stored and handled.
Read more about the study on London Evening Standard.