Plans by a South Australian primary school to have pupils' fingerprints scanned as part of a new student attendance record-keeping program have stoked controversy in the country.East Para Primary School advised parents in a newsletter last Friday that the scheme was being introduced for pupils – teachers already use a biometric system – to manage student lists more efficiently.The Adelaide school said that attendance is already stored digitally, and that a biometric system would simply make the process easier to track and manage.Although teachers have said that the system does not store fingerprints, but instead creates a template of the unique fingerprint characteristics, politicians and parents have raised objections.Australian Greens spokesperson for schools Senator Penny Wright has urged caution over the initiative.”Biometric data is still not well understood and it's very natural parents will have concerns about privacy ߪ While electronic swipe cards are common, for many people fingerprinting does have that association with crime, so it is no wonder parents are anxious.”

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