Government announces kids' database

Pupils between 14 and 19 will have their school records permanently placed on an electronic database, it has been announced.

The Managing Information Across Partners (MIAP) database, which is expected to be implemented from March, is run by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). This public body is responsible for creating an IT system for further education.

The new database will store the personal details and exam results of every secondary school pupil from the age of 14 so they can be accessed by colleges and prospective employers.

To be registered on the new database every 14-year-old will be issued with a unique learner number (ULN). According to reports in the Times newspaper, this ULN will be used by the Government to track individuals until they retire.

The move to store these details has caused concern for anti-ID Group NO2ID, which said the scheme is another excuse to build on the national ID card database.

It referred to an original plan for MIAP drawn up by the Government in 2003, which suggested that the database could be linked to identity cards. It said there was a real prospect that once pupils were in the system they might be forced into accepting an ID card.

Phil Booth, national coordinator for the organisation, said: “Without any warning and with the National ID Scheme on the rocks, yet another dodgy database is being proposed as the cure for all ills.”

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and the National Association of Parent Teacher Associations also put forward fears that the Government is too irresponsible to secure the database, as suggested by recent holes in its security.

Brian Lightman, director at the ASCL, which is listed as a supporting partner on the MIAP site, said: “The capacity of this database is of great concern and bearing in mind the Government's track record with databases, it’s a dangerous project."

He said it was much more important to invest in a database that lets schools and colleges share information about a student and then delete the records.

Computeractive contacted MIAP but received no response. However David Russell, National Director of Resources at the LSC, said: "The service does not collect any new information.

"It will allow education institutions, awarding bodies, government agencies and the Government to share information that already exists and would otherwise be collected several times over.”

Last year, the government put another planned database of children, Contactpoint, on hold pending a security review and changes to the system including its access controls.