Fascism begins slowly and innocently

Database tracking students causes privacy concerns

Polly Curtis, education editor

Wednesday February 13, 2008The Guardian

The government has devised an electronic database to track every teenager from the age of 14, recording their personal details, every exam result and exclusions.
The database will be accessible to employers, teachers and training agencies, and will include an online CV. The record will be permanent.
The government has taken steps to distance the plans from the ID card debate. When it was first conceived in 2002 it was thought the two would be linked, but that plan has now been shelved.
The National Union of Students warned last night that the record could lead to a full-blown ID card while lecturer unions expressed concerns about records of students' behavioural issues which could count against them later in life.
A service to register teenagers with a unique learner number will be launched in Westminster tomorrow. The number will allow students to take part in the new Managing Information Across Partners programme. A learner number will be mandatory for students applying to do the government's new diplomas from September.
It has won backing across government and in Wales and Scotland, a document circulated ahead of the launch claims. The system is designed to "streamline the collection, handling and sharing of information on learning and achievement between individual learners and education and training organisations", it says.
The document says the programme has the full support of the information commissioner, who is responsible for ensuring safe use of public information.
Gemma Tumelty, president of the National Union of Students, said: "We are concerned about the track records of the government on maintaining and safeguarding data. We are also worried about routes of progression - should every slap on the wrist at school count against you for ever? Why should an exclusion matter 10 years on? Surely everyone is allowed a few mistakes. We would worry this would turn into a national ID card."
A spokesman for the University and College Union said: "The government's track record of dealing with complex ID systems is far from impressive. We have all done things at school that we are not proud of, but we do not expect them to hold us back permanently in life and nor should they. Such a scheme would not seem to fit with the government's stated aim of giving everybody a second, third or fourth chance when it comes to education."
A spokesman for the Department for Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills said: "It's a learner's record and as such the learner will have control over how the information stored is used. The record will be subject to all data protection laws."