BBC News | EDUCATION | Fingerprints used to track attendance

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BBC News Online: Education

Friday, 7 January, 2000, 12:56 GMT

Fingerprints used to track attendance

Private schools in Japan are using pupils' fingerprints to check on attendance and prevent absenteeism.

The practice has drawn sharp criticism from some education officials, but the group of schools using the system have said they intend to continue using fingerprinting and could extend the scheme.

The fingerprints are being taken and stored by the Toshin Eisei Yobiko group of private schools, which operates a network of franchised schools across Japan.

It is believed that the fingerprints of pupils at six schools are kept on computers, where they can be compared with the prints of pupils attending lessons.

This approach to tracking attendance has been seen as an infringement of civil rights by some critics.

"This is a matter related to the dignity of human beings. I strongly feel that such a practice is unacceptable in the field of education," said Eiichi Matsui, a professor at Kyoto University of Teacher Education.

Absenteeism has become a growing problem in Japanese schools, with a 20% rise in truancy reported by the education ministry last year.

In the United Kingdom, the government has made cutting truancy a priority, and schools have also been experimenting with using technology to monitor attendance, including the use of electronic swipecards.

Related to this story:
'Swipecard' to cut truancy (11 Oct 99 | Education)
Japanese truancy soars (14 Aug 99 | Education)
Truants' parents face jail penalty (13 Dec 99 | Education)

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