The Office of the Privacy Commissioner has been consulted on the possibility of using identification numbers to track preschoolers, The New Zealand Herald reports. Beginning next year, about 190,000 children in early childhood education will be assigned a national student number. But some parents are worried about how attendance data may be used, as new obligations require beneficiaries to “take reasonable steps for their children to attend early childhood education … or have their benefits cut.” The government has said data would not be used for these purposes, but “documents released under the Official Information Act show the Office of the Privacy Commissioner has been consulted on such an arrangement,” the report states.
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