Several NSW government high schools have reported a boost in student attendance rates since installing biometric finger scanners, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The paper reported that the devices, which requires students to swipe their fingers on when they arrive and leave school, activates a text message to parents if their child has not been recorded.
The principal of Georges River College Oatley Senior Campus, which has seen a lift in student attendance, allayed privacy concerns by noting the personal information of students is destroyed once they leave the school each day.
“Teachers are not wasting time on paper rolls as the students can now scan on before school and go straight into classes. It is linked to their timetable so we know when they are meant to be there,'' she said.
Biometric information, according to privacy law, is categorised as sensitive information.