This article focuses on the top 6 educational applications of biometric technology that can benefit schools and other academic institutions.
Educational institutes face unique challenges regarding identification, authentication, access control, and security. They have to keep track of students and staff timing while ensuring their security within the campus. Daily operations can take a significant amount of time if they are not streamlined. Unlike most other organisations, schools and educational institutions can be more vulnerable to security incidents, as they often have a large group of children and underage students who may not be able to respond appropriately to a security incident.
Repetitive incidents of violence at educational institutions have also made administrators rethink security and access control. Security, however, is not the only challenge that educational facilities face. There are several other operational challenges, such as registration, student attendance management, access control, and scheduling, that these institutions face on a daily basis.
Technology has always been a means to streamline productivity, and educational institutions have been leveraging it to enhance operational efficiency and address various challenges. Biometrics is one of the merging technologies in the identity management and access control space. Biometrics offers a technology-based, automated approach to identifying individuals or verifying their identity. This technology is beneficial in applications where a moderate to high level of confidence in identity verification is required. Here is a summary of the applications of biometric technology that educational institutions can benefit from.
1. Student Registration
Biometric technology in schools and other educational institutions can be used for student registration instead of students’ biographic data. Using biographic details of the students for registration is a time-consuming process whenever a student record needs to be fetched. Different pieces of information must be verified to ensure that no error occurs when fetching the record, as there may be more than one student with similar data fields.
Using students’ biometric identifiers (such as fingerprints and facial geometry) will lead to more accurate student registrations and reduce errors when retrieving their records. Once a student is registered in the institution’s system with their biometrics, this information can be used for biometric attendance, access control, and security in a well-integrated environment.
2. Student attendance management
From pen and paper to computer software, schools employ various methods to track the attendance of students and staff members. However, when it comes to the security and accuracy of attendance data, no other approach seems to outperform biometric attendance in schools and educational institutions. Manual paper-based attendance data collection may seem cheap (and somewhat easy). Still, educational institutions must pay the price for compiling this data, which can be tedious and requires considerable manual effort.
Biometric attendance in schools and other educational institutions can completely replace paper-based and other student attendance management approaches with seamless and automated systems.
Biometric attendance systems have become synonymous with attendance management in many small to large-scale organisations and institutions. From administrators of large corporations to financial institutions and banks, biometric technology is utilised for access control, employee attendance tracking, security, and numerous other applications.
Many institutions worldwide have begun using biometric technology for student attendance management. For example, the University of Sunderland’s London Campus and the University of Delhi in India have been using biometric attendance systems.
3. Security
School security has become a pressing issue, especially given the vulnerability of children and underage students. Even higher education institutions like colleges and universities have faced security incidents, including gun violence.
Schools draw many visitors daily, posing security risks if not properly screened. Educational facilities can enhance security by registering visitors using fingerprint technology, thereby protecting students and staff. Many organisations already use this method to improve visitor management.
A school information system with a visitor management module can position your school as a high-tech facility. Colleges and universities are also targets for cyberattacks due to the vast amount of personal and research data they store. Biometrics, instead of passwords or PINs, can help educational institutions defend against cybercriminals. Passwords or PINs can be easily shared among students, leading to compromised IT network security.
4. Biometric ID for different facilities
In educational institutions, there are several facilities and sub-sections where students may require a dedicated card or slip to issue books from the library, enter different labs, get subsidised meals in the cafeteria, enter exam halls, etc. Biometrics in education can work as a universal ID that students do not need to carry.
Librarians use library cards to track books, issues, and returns. Managing libraries and books becomes increasingly complicated as the number of students grows. A biometric-based system can help educational institutions replace this otherwise slow and tedious manual library management system. A library system with biometric integration can track all books issued to students and those due for submission. When a book is issued or submitted, a student verifies their identity through a biometric scan, and the system is then able to enter.
Similarly, students can use biometric scans to pay for meals at the cafeteria, verify their identity at examination halls, and so on.
5. Access control
Schools need a reliable access control system that allows authorised individuals and blocks potential intruders. Biometric-based access control meets all school security requirements by automatically granting or denying access without supervision. For example, students can access the library, labs, and activity areas but not administrative sections.
Facial recognition-based access control can track student movements across school facilities, aiding supervision. Biometrics in education benefits students and staff by assigning specific access rights to designated sections.
6. Student Engagement
Apart from traditional attendance, identification, and access control applications, biometrics can help educational institutions enhance student engagement in academics and other activities. Face recognition, combined with emotional state sensing, can aid in tracking students’ emotional and cognitive states.
For example, an overhead camera in the classroom, equipped with facial recognition and the ability to sense emotional and cognitive states, can help ascertain students’ attentiveness. That is not all; advanced algorithms can even measure the attention students pay to lectures and activities. This precious behavioural data can help educational institutions to improve their delivery system.
Facial recognition can also track students in different activities and sports. A biometric modality called gait recognition is also used in sports at a professional level to improve sportspersons’ performance.
Conclusion
Educational institutions can address their operational challenges in several ways. For example, student attendance management can be done with paper-based methods or attendance software. However, no student attendance management approach seems to surpass biometrics in terms of accuracy, reliability, and efficiency.
Numerous educational institutions around the globe have already been utilising biometric technology for various applications; however, many have yet to adopt this trend. The one unparalleled advantage that biometrics in schools offers is that this single technology can be used to address many challenges.
