The present surveillance systems in place in educational institutions aren’t adequate enough to counter the challenges institutions face. Increasing incidents at schools and universities involving security breaches, has put the onus on educational institutions on improving and upgrading security. Biometrics could be the possible solution.
Biometrics refers to metrics related to human characteristics. It is measured by evaluating one or more distinctive biological traits. Biometric recognition technologies record traits that are unique to an individual and this data is used to identify personnel. Unique identifiers include fingerprints, hand geometry, earlobe geometry, retina and iris patterns, voice waves, DNA, and signatures etc. whatever is a part of you. These identifiers could then be used to grant access to an educational facility, campus, classrooms and other service areas like canteens, dormitories, libraries, computer labs, and other recreational facilities.
Different Scenarios For Biometrics Adoption:
1. Biometrics technology is making fast inroads into the education sector due to the benefits it provides in terms
of convenience, safety and security. One of the major challenges faced by most of the academic institutions is
student and faculty identification. Installing some form of biometrics can make the process reliable and hassle
free. Additionally it has also been observed that such installations have reduced the cases of absenteeism among
faculty and maintenance personnel.
2. Biometrics can also be used to run a cashless catering system. Here, students are identified using biometrics
resulting in automatic deduction from their credit cards.
3. Biometric solutions (cloud-based) is a cost-effective solution as it minimizes infrastructure outlays. Besides,
it is accessible from anywhere, at any time across devices for senior management and staff to access key reports
and data.
Another key feature of biometrics that distinguishes it from existing security solutions is control access i.e., allowing access to only those personnel who are required in a certain area or have functions in that area and restricting access from the rest. For example: The catering staff would only have access to the kitchen and the canteen premises while they would be restricted from classrooms, dorms etc. The transportation staff would only have access to parking areas and would be restricted from canteens, playground etc.
Additionally, control access can also be time based, meaning, maintenance staff could be prohibited from classrooms and dorms during working hours, but can be allowed access post working hours, enabling them to carry out cleaning and maintenance in that period.
We now look into different biometric systems that could be employed:
Card-based System: It is an innovative proximity card reader with a chip specially designed to read time and attendance data.
Fingerprint-based System: This is a biometric fingerprint reader for monitoring time, attendance and access control. It is an advanced system of identity matching and tracking records. Besides, it helps to optimize the workforce management of an educational institution.
Facial Recognition System: This fortifies the management structure of any academic organization. It is one of the safest and most secure ways of recognizing a person’s identity. The technology reads the ‘face’ or ‘IRIS’ of an individual and analyses the characteristics of the face-images or ‘IRIS’ details via digital video camera. By recognition of the face or eyes of the personnel, it generates attendance that is tracked automatically for future records.
To conclude, in order to combat security related challenges faced by educational institutions, they must adopt biometrics as it is currently the safest and the most secure technology available. Institutions must ensure that their students and employees adhere to any form of biometrics that has been installed in the premises. Lastly, care should be taken that the operators of biometrics function as independent authorities and do not collude with any employee in the organization. This cost-effective and reliable tracking system is the next big tool in workforce management and tracking, and will be for years to come.