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| Student database to be created | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Every 14-year-old in England will have their personal details and exam results recorded on a permanent database under a government scheme. | Every 14-year-old in England will have their personal details and exam results recorded on a permanent database under a government scheme. |
| Employers will be able to check exam results and other information on a tamper-proof "online CV". | |
| Every child will also be issued with a lifelong Unique Learner Number. | Every child will also be issued with a lifelong Unique Learner Number. |
| They will be able to correct factual errors in data held - but critics say it could lead to school records being used against pupils in later life. | |
| There are also concerns it will be used as a step towards introducing identity cards, although this is denied by officials. | |
| Pupils in English schools already have a learner number but it is currently destroyed when they leave school. | |
| Exam results | |
| Under the Managing Information Across Partners (MIAP) system - to be launched on Thursday by higher education minister Bill Rammell - the number will stay with them until they retire. | |
| It is meant to allow students to build up a lifelong record of educational participation. | |
| It will also allow employers to check the qualifications of people applying for jobs. | |
| Students will be able to look up their exam results and other personal details online by entering their unique learner number. | |
| They will be able to correct any factual errors, provided they can prove their identity, but they will not be able to delete records. | |
| They can then give another password to potential employers to allow them to access their educational record - although MIAP say this view "will only display successful achievements". | |
| Identity card fears | |
| But anti-ID campaigners are concerned the scheme could be a way of introducing identity cards through the back door. | |
| Phil Booth, of the NO2ID campaign, said: "The ID programme is looking shaky, now another dodgy database emerges. | |
| "The unique numbering of people for life is dangerously close to the core of the National Identity Scheme. | |
| "It means every mistake you make as a child will follow you for life through an official government-assigned number." | |
| There are also concerns about data security. | |
| 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. | |
| ContactPoint is designed for use by child protection agencies. | |
| It holds name, address, date of birth, gender, parental contact information, details of school and any professionals working with the child. |