Educard
The edu.card is the Austrian student ID card in credit card format , which was introduced in 2002 and is currently being issued as a pilot project by some schools . The ID is valid for the entire lower and upper grades (4 to 5 years).
introduction
Since the technical effort for the schools is not low, the card is still not mandatory for everyone. The schools decide autonomously about the introduction. At the beginning of 2012 there were over 100 schools across Austria.
- The introduction is being pushed by the ministry, the technology suppliers and the licensed photo studios.
- Schools are vehemently for the introduction either because of the payment functions or for reasons of cost.
- Parents are usually more skeptical for reasons of data protection and the payment functions.
The card can be produced in three versions:
- Plastic card without electronic functions (ID only)
- Card with chip and payment function
- Card with chip, payment and citizen card function .
Payment function
With the payment and service functions contained on the card, copying costs, payment of student fees and payments possibly at the school buffet, but also in supermarkets , can be processed using the Quick electronic wallet . The parents can load the card with a maximum of € 400 using an ATM , and the debit at the school is done using a special terminal, the edu.card service point. In addition, payments can be made via the online platform edu.shop on any PC with a card reader . Some schools offer the possibility to borrow a card reader. Credit for the copier can also be loaded from the card via a terminal. This means that students no longer have to be given cash to pay for ski courses , excursions, trips, school milk , etc., but if the card is lost, the money is lost too. Since higher amounts of money can otherwise only be collected by bank transfer, there are no booking fees for the schools. Parents can, however, use their own ATM card to pay at school or at home. Since Quick was discontinued on July 31, 2017, this crucial function has been lost and there is no alternative in sight.
More functions
Access, login and signing functions are also possible. It is also intended to be used as a free ticket by the transport associations, but this is currently only possible in the Vienna area .
Technical details
map
The student card is yellow-orange and has a thermochromic strip that can be erased and rewritten using the TRW process. The annual updates are made on this strip. There are special cards for teachers in light blue, which are created without printing out the date of birth.
The creation (personalization of the centrally generated blanks) is carried out by one of the (currently 13) certified photo studios , as the devices are too expensive for schools (at least 3,500 euros). Photo , school address, student number, name and date of birth are printed permanently. A school logo can also be accommodated. The exchange of student data required for this is regulated by special data protection agreements. The home address is not included, it is neither printed nor saved. The photo does not have to meet the biometric requirements of the identity card, and there is no provision for storing biometric data. Therefore, the picture is often identical to the portrait that the photo studios take in the course of the class photo .
The card must be updated visually (information on the class on the rewritable TRW field) and electronically (on the chip) every year. This process must be done at school. Transport companies may print the lower part of the field for their tickets.
Hardware and software
A commercially available chip card reader is required to use the card on the PC. Communication takes place via a client program (eduUniCard-Client.exe), which can be obtained free of charge. After inserting the card, the Edushop Internet interface automatically displays the outstanding and payments made. The current credit for the copier is displayed for this purpose. Payments can now be made and credit can be topped up. A quick plug-in is required for payment, which is not available for all browsers. The card can be changed during the payment process so that parents can use the credit on their own Quick Card. For certain menu items, additional login with a user name and password is required. For payments made at the terminal, there is the option of printing a receipt like a bank transfer.
criticism
The card is still in the pilot phase, due in part to the concerns that emerged when it was launched, not technical issues. Often the parent representatives have to be convinced for a long time.
The cards are introduced according to the decision of the school community committee , but the consent of the individual parents is usually not obtained, although this would be necessary under the Data Protection Act .
According to the law, individual pupils could do without the electronic functionality of the edu.card within the framework of the basic right to data protection, but this is hardly possible in practice if the school wants to use the payment functions mandatory. Almost all schools do not offer any alternative payment methods.
On the other hand, practice has shown that some teachers still collect cash at the same time because they shy away from the effort of registering their payment claims in the system.
Since the credit stored on it is lost if the card is lost or defective, some parents do not want their underage children to pay high amounts for ski courses etc. B. could easily be transferred online, can only pay by card. The only alternative is to personally visit the terminal at school or borrow a card reader.
In any case, you must always go to an ATM before making any payment. This means that the parents spend more time and have more booking costs.
Now that more and more companies have stopped the option of quick payments, they can no longer be used for payments outside of school.
Since there is an appointment for payments and there are often only a few terminals in the school, the students may often have to queue longer during the breaks in order to be able to make a payment.
Due to the necessary cooperation with one of the currently 13 licensed photo studios, there is also a business relationship in the area of class photos , which are produced at the same time. This is sometimes reinforced by sponsoring the expensive equipment. Smaller photographers then no longer get a chance. In these business relationships, the student addresses have also been passed on without permission.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ EduCard: A student ID card that can do more , Bezirksblätter Innsbruck, undated
- ↑ Quick is discontinued , PayLife
- ↑ List of certified photographers , Ministry's PDF file
- ↑ Costs ( Memento of the original from August 3, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Schiessel EDV
- ↑ The eduUniCard client ( memento of the original dated December 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ parliamentary answer to queries No. 3643 / J-No / 2009 from January 11, 2010
- ↑ Student card: First parents fight back. Kleine Zeitung , April 13, 2012, accessed May 31, 2020 .
- ↑ No more quick function with new POS systems , consumer
- ↑ Edu.Card information ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. from the parents' association BG / MG Dreihackengasse, Graz
- ^ Questionable distribution of school photos , ORF-Help of December 5, 2009
- ↑ Salzburg photographer triggers a wave of protests from September 27, 2009
