Putting the students at stake

Article: http://www.news.com/U.K.-student-records-to-sit-in-accessible-database/2100-1029_3-6230380.html?tag=cd.top

The British have developed a database which, starting in September 2008, will hold students' personal data and schooling information, such as exam results. This project applies to students aged 14-19, and the database will be available to schools and employers. The idea is to make it easy for schools and companies to pull up an applicant's records without needing the applicant to go through the trouble of acquiring transcripts, filling out educational information on applications, etc.

I can see how the new system will benefit British students, schools, and employers. As stated before, it will be more convenient for all involved parties. When applying to colleges, for example, the student must currently send copies of his or her transcript as well as applicable exam results. With this new system, that will no longer be necessary because all of those records will be electronically accessible.

However, with convenience comes a price. Is it really ethical to keep all this information in an easily accessible database? There would have to be a control that would prohibit schools and employers from accessing records of students that are not applying to their institution. Also, the U.K.'s record for keeping personal data secure is not all the great. As stated in the article, "In December, nine NHS trusts lost 168,000 patient records. A month before, the details of 25 million child benefit claimants went missing. And information on 3 million learner drivers disappeared during that time." Imagine if the database is the only place where a student's records are stored. If I were one of those students and all my educational records were lost forever, I would more than upset -- acceptance to college depends on that information afterall. Plus, there's the potential of a hacker breaking in and stealing or changing information. A hacker could steal a student's identity, or a student could have a hacker change an exam score to make him look better to a college.

I see where the UK is going with this project, but I don't see how convenience outweighs all the dangers. What's wrong with filling out those few extra lines on an application and requesting a few transcripts to be mailed?