After nine schools in North Ayrshire confirmed they will use facial recognition software to verify children’s lunch payments, officials in the north and north-east have ruled the idea out completely.
The schools began using the new system on Monday and it was claimed the move would speed up queues and was Covid safe.
CRB Cunninghams, the company that put the biometrics in place, said it meant they cut down the transaction time for each pupil.
Speaking to the Financial Times, managing director David Swanston said: “It’s the fastest way of recognising someone at the till. it’s faster than card, it’s faster than fingerprint.
“In a secondary school you have around about a 25-minute period to serve potentially 1,000 pupils. So we need fast throughput at the point of sale.”
However, campaigners criticised the move with Big Brother Watch claiming it “normalised” the use of biometric checks.
Facial recognition has proved controversial in all aspects of everyday life but a school in New York rolled out a system to boost security in 2018.
Earlier this year civil liberty groups have called for the technology to be completely banned in England and Wales.
North Ayrshire Council said 97% of parents have given their consent for the scheme and they have issued information about biometric measures online.
But how would you feel if your child’s school were to introduce facial recognition software to help serve school lunches?
What councils had to say about the idea
Aberdeen City Council: “We’ve no plans to use biometrics as identifiers for school meals.”
Aberdeenshire Council: “Aberdeenshire Council isn’t considering the use of facial recognition software to pay for school meals at this time.”
Highland Council: “This is not something the council has either considered or discussed.”
Moray Council: “We don’t plan on making any changes to the current systems as yet.”
Orkney Islands Council: “Facial recognition in paying for school meals is not something that Orkney Islands Council is looking to implement.”
Shetland: “Shetland Islands Council is not considering the use of facial recognition software in schools.”
Western Isles Council: “We have no plans to explore this technology at the moment.”
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