HUMAN rights groups have criticised schools for taking electronic fingerprints of pupils instead of issuing library cards. As many as 200,000 primary and secondary pupils have been fingerprinted in 350 schools, according to Privacy International, which has called for the removal of high-tech scanning equipment. The controversy emerged when a mother discovered that her 11-year-old son had been fingerprinted without her consent at the Sacred Heart School in Ruislip, west London. The school has since said it would ask parents’ permission.