EXETER pupils  could use  their  fingerprints to pay for their  school meals in a scheme  which is expected to be introduced  in city secondary schools  next year.

The hi-tech payment system  would see pupils scanning  their fingerprints or swiping  cards on special machines instead of handing over cash at  the tills.

After pre-ordering their  meals online, children would  get their fingers or cards  scanned at lunchtime to bring  up their account and pay for  their food.

 School managers Carillion  say the system would enable  pupils to pay for their meals  without having to bring cash  into school.

But Exwick and St Thomas  county councillor Rob Hannaford, a governor at two local  primary schools, has expressed  concerns about the initiative,  which is already being used in  schools in Kingsbridge, Bideford and Totnes.

 He said parents in these pilot  areas were protesting and complaining about the changes and  their potential dangers.

 “I am definitely against this  move and I will be asking for  the matter to be referred to the  Exeter County Committee for a  full and proper discussion.” he  said.

“There is no doubt that this  controversial move should be  put out to consultation with  local councillors, parents and  school governors before any action is taken in Exeter.

“This is yet again the face of  Big Brother government

 “Does any reasonable person  think its acceptable that school  children should be finger printed like criminals, and their biometric details kept on a system?

 “How do we know that this  system is secure and safe to  use? We have seen time and  time again that technology fails  and hacking can take place.

“It also raises a range of other longer term concerns and  issues about bringing in biometric ID cards by the back  door, conditioning children to  accept this authoritarian approach, and it’s also an affront  to all our traditional British  civil liberties.”

A spokesman for Carillion  said the company and Devon  County Council had consulted  with schools and had held  meetings with governors, to  which parents were invited.

She said: “We wouldn’t be  looking to do this until at least  Easter. This system already operates in Totnes, Taunton and  Plymouth.

“The way it would work is  the children would be able to  pre-order their meals online, so  it’s a cashless system. If they  don’t want to use their finger  for ID, they will also be able to  use a card, so there is an option.”

She said the system would  also benefit people with special  dietary requirements, as at the  ordering stage it would warn  them if a meal contained something they were allergic to.