NO2ID

Hey There All,

Here's the issue that's happening in my sixth form... Recently our head of sixth form has TOLD us, not informed, that we have to give our fingerprints for use in a system that will register us in and out of school using our thumb print. The fingerprint system in question is the iGuard system. A group of friends and I have explained our concerns on this as we do not wish the school to have our biometrics and we are within our rights to refuse, and he said (Quote) that if we don't like it we can find somewhere else.

What is worrying though is that the head of sixth form hasn't consulted the school council, any parents, or pupils that it will be affecting. May I also state that we are all under 18.

Does anyone know what can be done about this as we are not giving into this system but have to construct an argument that is strong enough and holds good enough points to ensure that there is no way they can force this upon us without consent, and threaten us with expulsion of we refuse to give our fingerprints.

I've read a alot into the problems with fingerprint scanners and read up on case examples of the problems with it as well as what's happened in other schools. What I hope to do is inform people of this before it happens so we can elimanate this obvious unconsent and forced invasion of privacy against students. What has really annoyed me is the way that our head of sixth has gone ahead and bought and put the system into our building (we have not been fingerprinted yet) without any consultation. After asking him how many parents he's consulted on this his answer was, none and then a long silence =). Which goes to show he can't do this and he knows that.

What can I do, and what are my rights with this issue and any advice as I can't give into such a blatant invasion of privacy and rights.

Many Thanks,
--Shaun

Sorry I didn't log in and appeared as guest.

--Shaun

On another forum this chap posted this letter he received.


quote

Dear Parents,

New Multi Purpose Smart Cards

This week we have been processing new smart cards with all staff and pupils, which
will come into use in the next two weeks (and fully in use in September). For the
pupils these will contain information in the chip and for staff and sixth formers will
have a photograph on the outside as well as information in the chip.
These cards will be issued to all staff and pupils and, as well as being more
sophisticated cards for meals, will also have the capacity immediately to be:-

Identity cards for all adults and post 16 students
Library card containing a unique bar code for all
In the next twelve months the capacity for security access to certain doors into
school for all.
In the next twelve months will be for registration for all.
This is a very important development and, as far as meals are concerned, these
cards have the capacity to provide much more information for students and
parents (if required) about eating habits. The process of loading the cards via
cheques remains much the same, but there will be a box for cheque deposits.
There is no cost for the initial card but, because these are more sophisticated and
much more multi purpose, there will be a replacement cost of £7.50. They are a
necessary and valuable resource for all and need to be carefully looked after.
They are not transferable - are unique to each pupil and have no accessible value
for anyone else, (the photo of the owner appears at the till at point of use!!)
They can be stopped like any other card if stolen or lost, but the responsibility for the
card remains with the owner. Pupils must look after them.

We hope that you agree, that this is a major step forward for all of us and urge you to
impress on your sons and daughters the importance of looking after these new cards
for the new purposes outlined above.
Yours sincerely,

[Generic leader/controller]
Headmaster

---

I wondered whether anybody else has similar measures being implemented at their school or workplace

/quote



So it's happening, the conditioning process is underway. What can be done though? Well if I were you, as I said to the other chap I would go straight to the headmaster’s office and speak to him. If he tried to slip out of the encounter I would stand my ground. That’s just me though; I don't take it, whatever the paperwork says.

Seems there they have at least contacted the parents about it and informed them of what is going on.

The problem here is that no one has been informed of it, our head of sixth form has had the system installed without any consultation: None from teachers, pupils or parents - and we are all under 18 so parents should definetly be consulted.

What's pissed me off is that he is telling us to give up our fingerprints to replace a system that already works fine (registration on paper with form tutor) and in turn we lose the privacy of our fingerprints that we don't want to give up in the first place. And the alternative to resisting this is being expelled from sixth form? This is not the way he should and can go about it.

What can be done?
--Shaun

How absolutely disgraceful. Makes you wonder if this headmaster is receiving bonuses from a government related source. Get together as many people to form a pressure group and go to the local/national newspapers etc or anywhere else you can get publicity. Find out if other schools are bringing this in and see if as many of you can join up to form an even bigger pressure group.

Get the papers involved immediately. The more people who can write to them the better, but not with identical letters obviously.

Nationals would be good but locals are probably more likely to print something. Good luck.

Definetly, I will be meeting with the Headteacher about the matter as it's our head of sixth form that is forcing it upon us.

http://forum.no2id.net/viewtopic.php?t=10263

get you friends together and write to the Mirror, quick, As the papers only hang around on a subject for a few days.

If all students collectively refuse they will have to do a u-turn.

See: http://www.leavethemkidsalone.com/

Hi Shaun,

you could also contact the National Union of Students at http://www.nusonline.co.uk/

I'm sure they'll be very supportive.

Shaun, I've written (elsewhere on NO2ID) that I don't see much harm in the use of a finger or thumb-print for booking out library books. I know everyone does not agree with me on that. However, I think that you and your fellow students must be honest; if the civil liberties and anti-biometric aspect is the primary one, you should go with that.

For me, the main issue with registration (as distinct from library book issue) is that, presumably, many more fingerprint readers are required. This puts up the costs of the system. I would therefore look into the cost-effectiveness of the overall case for the use of a computerised system without fingerprint readers, compared to the manual system currently used. Then consider the cost saving (if any) and reduction in purposeful misregistration, from using fingerprint (say compared to computerised registration being done by a prefect or monitor). Could there be an alternative that did not require finger/thumb prints, perhaps as a special concession to the sixth form (with their presumably smaller form sizes and greater trustworthiness). Also, what would be done with the time freed up in form rooms (presumably at the start of each half day), say in terms of discussion between form teacher and pupils of current affairs issue (starting say with the civil liberties issue of a UK National Identity Scheme).

A secondary issue is the overbearing and dismissive attitude that you report, from the head of the sixth form. I would have thought that any decent school would take care to retain the respect of its pupils. This is particularly important for the sixth form, as they lead the whole school and set an example that is important to other pupils.

If you feel that appropriate channels, internal to the school itself, have really been exhausted (ie no sympathy from the Head either), I would suggest a letter to the Chairman of the Governers. This should very reasonable and carefully itemise the original complaint, how it has been handled so far by the head of sixth and Head. It should also state what the sixth form themselves would view as a desirable outcome. If at all possible, you should get everyone in the sixth form to sign the letter, or as many of them as you can.

[I should warn you that the school may not like such a letter. However, I would hope that things have improved since 1964 when I, aged 10 or 11, organised a petition against the very overbearing canteen supervisor. I and a colleague (as the two lead signatories) were severely told off. However, there was a marked improvement in canteen supervision thereafter.]

Good luck.

Did he really - sounds like the school bully to me.

Actually, Shaun he's dead wrong.

Schools are public authorities and the Human Rights Act makes it unlawful for public authorities to act in a way which is incompatible with the Act.

Under the Human Rights Act, Protocol 1: Article 2 Right to education: No person shall be denied the right to education. In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions.

The above is the exact text of the Act. If you and anyone else who objects to this get your parents to write in to complain the iGuard procedure goes against your religious and/or philosophical beliefs and citing the above text, bully boy will have to back down.

It doesn't matter what your religious and philosophical beliefs are - that's private and irrelevant to the fact that your head teacher has to comply with the Act. There's no way your head teacher can force compliance by blackmailing you with your education.

The more of you that do this the more pressure you can apply to this bully to drop the system.

This is gradually going to be introduced into more and more schools so students and parents need to act quickly to stop this now because this is all part of an indoctrination process.

Best of luck

Some good advice from Gesh here:
http://forum.no2id.net/viewtopic.php?t=2392

You also know about the children databases?
http://databasemasterclass.blogspot.com ... chive.html

They can't expel everyone. I mean a school with no pupils would look rather stupid don’t you think.

I'm not so certain about sixth form (I'm in it myself) but I know that for students up to year 11, the head (or whoever) cannot simply kick you out, getting a student expelled is a long process and a lot of people have to get involved.

My head of sixth form is a bit similar, he tends to force us into this and that without consultation, and yet referrs to us as 'young adults' whenever we might get up to something he doesnt appreciate. Just recently he forced us to do a 2 day business/enterprise day at another local school in the center of town, it was a COMPLETE waste of time, and in the letter he wrote to parents to inform them we were going to attend, he even advised us to be especially careful since we would be crossing roads, and to only cross at designated crossings. What a joke!

So I just suggest you outright refuse, take pride in making decisions for yourself and others will follow.

I suppose on the plus side he's teaching you about the double standards that exist all over the "adult" world (I don't mean pornography).

It's the assumption that people will not stand up for themselves that really pisses me off.

Actually, it's the fact that a lot of the time they don't that makes it even worse.

from the sales brochure:

http://www.iguarddirect.com

"Unlike other security systems that require proprietary components, the iGuard incorporates an embedded Web Server, which enables all computers, such as Apple Macintosh, PCs, Unix, : in the corporate computer network to setup, maintain and access the information of the device simultaneously using the well-known Internet Browser."

something tells me this also allows access to hackers!

One of the problems with putting biometrics in schools and colleges is that these are not secure environments in which to do this. If fingerprints are stolen, and this could happen even if the system stores a number (hash) instead of a full print (see www.leavethemkidsalone.com/danger.htm for some of the ways this could happen) then this could affect you for the rest of your life and leave you open to identity theft, etc

Many schools and colleges are bullying people to accept these kinds of systems without proper consultation, but it's probably illegal for them to do this. Have you thought of contacting your MP?

I think that this is absolutely appalling, from both the pupil and parent view. Probably the most sinister bit is that harmless little phrase "...provide information on eating habits and other things".

In other words, the children are already being conditioned to having the little spy in their pocket; I have little doubt that once in place, scanners will appear at the school gates to check people in and out, and then in every classroom. All under the guise of cutting down on turancy no doubt.

I find it incredible that the school has not obtained permission from parents, nor even consulted with them, given that taking of biometrics is involved. There could be many valid parental objections to this.

I was also under the impression that there were quite strict laws about who is empowered to demand to take anyone's fingerprints and to keep them on record.

I would be very surprised if a school could do so without at least seeking parental permission first.

It would seem that the school head has aspirations to operate a high-tech open prison, rather than a place of learning.

If there are a group of you as you say, can you get the support of parents? Although it shouldn’t be the case, you may find the head of 6th will sit up and pay more attention if they become involved. It sounds as if the guy in question is on a power trip, and to be fair, he needs reining in purely as a matter of principal, let alone over the fingerprinting issue.


This is very significant. From the few people I have talked to who work in schools, network security is far from being the best in the world (and I’m being kind here). You really are at the mercy of how good the IT staff are at any particular school (look at salaries if you want an indication as to what you are getting).

I was under the impression that these systems were mostly stand alone. Accessing your information via a web browser over the network (in turn connected to the internet) makes your data potentially as secure as a paper bag to anyone determined enough. Tell them you are not having any of it.

Make sure you call in at the link Andrew posted above, I am sure they would like to hear from you and will be a real help.

Let us know how you get on and good luck!

I would advise ensuring that any communication you have with the school/sixth form flatters them in such as way as to make it more difficult to disagree with you, something along the lines of:

"As pupils at xxxx you have encouraged us to become not only able students, but empowered and responsible members of the community, and it is these qualities which inform our deep concerns about the proposed scheme."

Or something like that, anyway. My point being that if you can say that this is stemming from the core values that the school/sixth form has taught you - even if that's not actually true! - you place them in a position where by disagreeing with you, they're also disagreeing with those positive qualities, which would be rather awkward.

Mention the research you've been doing into wider questions of proving one's identity. Mention politics. Definitely mention the fact that you find being fingerprinted distasteful, loaded with connotations of criminal wrongdoing, and wholly contrary to the nurturing, positive attitude you would expect to find in an educational establishment. That sort of stuff. And I would do all this in writing, so they'll have to reply in writing. It puts you on a stronger footing, because you can consider very carefully what you intend to say, and be as eloquent as possible about it, and it means they'll have to be much more reasoned and much less blunt in their responses: it's less straightforward for them to just tell you to shut up and go away in a letter.

Definitely, if some pupils want to go ahead with the scheme then that's fine - and that is there choice and the end of the day. What has really annoyed me however is how they have imposed this upon us and given us no choice on the matter and we have been threatened with expulsion if we don't agree or give in to the system.

Not to mention the fact that no parents have been consulted in the matter, and the lack of an opt out alternative for those who disagree with giving their biometrics for disproportionate reasons and ultimately expelled if they disagree!

I am really pissed off with the way the sixth form has gone about imposing this, nonethless some of us have arranged a meeting very soon with the school to discuss this further.

--Shaun

I worked in various school and college IT departments and I can tell you that security is a nightmare.

Virtually every single user of the system (that is, pupils and teachers) represent a problem, but a different problem. Many of the teachers won't be IT savvy at all, yet often have to have "administrator" capabilities to deal with situations like changing the little darlings passwords, or removing vast print jobs from the network printers.

On the other hand, pupils will often be very IT savvy, and all too ready to take advantages opened up by teachers!

Usually the only people who are truly security minded will be admin staff in the accounts office!

Moreover, getting properly qualified and motivated IT staff in schools is a problem because the pay rates compare so unfavourably with those in industry.

I have got it. One day secretly arrange it that the entire class turn up with NO2ID badges. If everyone in the class agrees to take part it will scare the head $!?*less because it shows how organised the resistance can be. (Even if in reality it might not be, it’s the overall impression that counts), plus the unexpected nature of it with a suggestion of things to come.

Shaun, do you live in an area that has a local NO2ID group? If so, perhaps you could arrange for one of the local activists to give a talk to people from your sixth form about privacy concerns, with particular regard to biometrics. As well as helping to reinforce the views of your classmates, it is also possible that the head of sixth will attend and understand that this is a serious concern across the country, not just a localised rebellion because of resistance to change.