Facial recognition on trial as monitoring tool

Facial recognition is being trialled to monitor student attendance at two New Zealand tertiary providers.

The New Zealand Principals’ Federation said its future in schools would not be a surprise.

The $150,000-plus experiment, run by Aware Group in conjunction with the Tertiary Education Commission, will wrap up at the North and South Island campuses in about three weeks.

The artificial intelligence (AI) tracks the arrival and departure of students and uploads the data into attendance records that could be used by the Ministry of Education, parents, and caregivers to monitor ‘‘safety and truancy’’ in real time.

Aware Group chief executive Brandon Hutcheson would not confirm which institutions had used the technology but expected it to lead to talks with the ministry over its future in the education sector, and that could include schools.

Hutcheson said the technology would help address the growing issue of truancy and its associated costs including policing, social services and the courts. Knowing which students were absent could help redirect support to those who needed it.

Principals’ Federation president Whetu Cormick said facial recognition technology was not a far-fetched concept for schools as most education providers had moved away from paper-rolls and used self-sign-in systems.

However, he said it would not change truancy trends as absence often related to mental health, poverty and disengagement.

Hutcheson is due to present at the artificial intelligence conference: AI DAY, at Auckland’s ASB Waterfront Theatre from today.