Electronic card to trace school-going child.

Updated on: Wednesday, June 16, 2010

An electronic card to keep parents posted about school-going kids-- when they come and go, when they have a test, or get a report card-- has been launched in India, sponsors announced today.

The idea is to put parents' mind at ease, Pinnacle Teleservices founder director Rajesh Banerjee told journalists in New Delhi.

The system uses an electronic card based on radio frequency identification technology that transmits the identity-- a unique serial number-- of an object or person wirelessly, using radio waves.

Simply put, a network of gadgetry will send out an SMS-- Short Message Service-- to a parent when his or her child arrives in school and again when he or she leaves for home.

The school will also use it to transmit to parents updates on such things as extra classes, child performance, parent-teacher meet and so on.

The card will, among other things, work as a leash of sorts to help catch up with kids who enjoy bunking classes. The device was introduced years ago in such countries as the United States and Japan with varying degrees of success.

An issue it poses is that a child may feel he or she is always under watch, something to be weighed against the need for security which is becoming more and more important.

A spate of kidnappings led Gurgaon police earlier this year to suggest a resort to RFID cards supposedly to help trace holders after they are abducted or disappear.

But Pinnacle card is not currently equipped to do that although such a provision is feasible by incorporating Global Positioning System at extra cost, company executive Abhinav Bansal said.

Pinnacle executives said they have already installed the system in 15 schools in five States-- six in Pune, four in Mumbai, two each in New Delhi and Nagpur, and one at Agra. Coverage will cost Rs 600-1,000 per child, depending on various factors, including the numbers of children in a school, Mr Banerjee said. The device will not substitute the good old roll call.

A child who decides to send his card to school along with a classmate while bunking himself-- or herself-- will get caught owing to discrepancy between the RFID report and the roll call, Mr Banerjee said in reply to a question.

Electronic card to trace school-going child.

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