Throughout the years, the school has been present in our lives. Today, technology is also a constant in our daily lives. Biometrics, an emerging technology used in education, stands out.
The main objective of biometric solutions is to strengthen the security of school communities, but many other benefits go unnoticed, including operational and management benefits.
Here's how biometrics is used in Brazilian schools and the technology's practical benefits.
Biometrics in schools: a brief history
According to Mozart Neves Ramos, director of articulation and innovation at the Ayrton Senna Institute, school dropouts and administrative inefficiency cost the public purse more than R$30 billion a year. Schools have had to adapt to a new scenario for this and other reasons in recent years.
The most challenging needs were strengthening security due to the recent attacks and adapting to the virtual environment due to the pandemic. Regarding security, incorporating innovative technologies is critical in protecting the school community as it impacts staff productivity, student learning levels, and student-teacher interaction.
In addition, the modernization of teaching methods and the optimization of operational processes are market demands that educational institutions must meet to remain competitive and attractive.
It is no coincidence that schools are incorporating technological solutions. We can mention the use of biometric verification and authentication for students, teachers, and education professionals. Although it is still in its early days, using biometrics in schools has caught the sector's attention and has even become a public issue.
Legislation on biometrics in schools
In 2021, Congressman Bibo Nunes proposed Bill No. 3998/19 to "ensure that the student enrolled is the same as the one being evaluated when studying remotely." The bill initially aimed to solve problems related to the COVID-19 emergency, when schools mainly operated remotely.
The proposal was rejected because it would increase costs for educational institutions and require technological adaptations that would create financial and operational difficulties, given that it is already difficult to maintain school activities amid a health emergency.
According to Folha de São Paulo, between March and April 2023, at least 102 bills were proposed in the 26 states and the Legislative Chamber of the Federal District. The primary motivation is related to school safety.
Biometrics in school security
According to the Internet Lab's Education at a Glance report, implementing biometrics, especially facial recognition, is a phenomenon in Brazil. Today, there is at least one local public policy for this purpose in all five regions of Brazil.
The majority of implementations are in the initial and testing phases. As a result, the leading schools taking advantage of biometric technology are those at the municipal level, through public agreements with validated companies, and private schools. In the public sector, so far, three cities have fully adopted the technology: Betim (MG), Jaboatão dos Guararapes (PE), and Goiânia (GO). Regarding the level of education, basic education has a high percentage of students with registered biometrics.
In summary, the practical function of the technology is to collect the student's biometric data and store it in its database. The places that have implemented or are in the process of implementing facial recognition said that the technology has a high accuracy rate and is used for various purposes.
For example, the city of Jaboatão dos Guararapes reported that the facial recognition system only checks students' attendance and is not a tool for granting access to the school. In Goiânia, on the other hand, students' biometric information is also used to improve school management.
Benefits of biometrics in schools
Although security is the most common reason for using biometrics, the technology can be helpful in many other ways. Here are some of them:
- It improves the monitoring of the students and the staff in the school. A biometric digital attendance system can help combat truancy and give parents greater peace of mind.
- It saves teachers time by eliminating the need to take a roll call during class. Students' attendance is recorded as they enter the school.
Valid estimates that 20% of a 50-minute class is spent on administrative tasks such as roll call.
Biometric APIs, such as BioPass ID's Classroom API, use student data to detect, count, and recognize people in a classroom environment by combining artificial intelligence and biometrics to increase learning efficiency.
- It generates reports and insights on attendance and identifies discrepancies in student attendance.
- It reduces the waste of school resources by controlling the number of supplies in advance based on the number of students in the school.
As a result, it is possible to improve the management of school supplies and meals.
- It improves the administration and management of schools, especially to control outsiders' access to the school environment. In addition, this technology helps democratize information for all levels of the administrative hierarchy.
- It facilitates communication between social services, such as Child Protective Services, by sharing attendance information so that appropriate action can be taken.
The use of biometrics in schools is already a reality
In this article, we learned about using biometrics to keep schools safe. We also saw that the technology has brought many other benefits to educational institutions, both public and private.
Implementing biometrics is a complex process that requires careful planning, appropriate investment, and an approach that addresses privacy and regulatory issues.
The intelligent use of biometric technologies is the key to meeting current and future challenges. Discover BioPass ID's educational solutions that can help you transform your educational institution.
