Stepwise biometric procedures for managing student attendance in higher institutions of learning

Abstract

Data and information security are very important issues in computing environment. Security of data prevents unauthorized users from accessing an individual personal information. Biometric is one of the authentication methods used in a wide range of application domains such as airline and banking environment to secure confidential data. This technique is more reliable and capable of distinguishing between an authorized person and an impostor than traditional methods such as passwords. Large numbers of higher academic institutions in the developing countries are still using the process of manual attendance for both lecture and examination for students' authentication and authorization, hence, the need for automated system that can assist in this area. In this paper, stepwise biometric procedures for managing students' attendance for both lectures and examinations are presented. The various stages involved in student attendance management are discussed and simulated. These include enrollment, fingerprint matching and attendance management. The results show that the proposed system is capable of reducing students' impersonation during lectures and examination in higher institution of learning.

Keywords: Data, Information Security, Biometric, Fingerprint, Minutiae.