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Microchips in school uniforms warn parents if kids play hooky


A microchip embedded in school uniforms is helping parents of some 20,000 grade school students in Brazil make sure their kids stay in school and don’t cut classes.
 
The GPS microchips, similar to those in mobile phones and pet trackers, send parents a text message if the children enter the school grounds or are late for more than 20 minutes, news site Tecca.com said, citing an Associated Press report.
 
Vitoria da Conquista city education secretary Coriolano Moraes was quoted in the report as saying the local government launched the project as parents “would always be surprised when told of the number times their children skipped class.”
 
Under the program, the microchip is embedded either under the school’s coat of arms or in one of the sleeves.
 
Vitoria da Conquista’s government spent $670,000 designing and making shirts for the first 20,000 students, the report said.
 
It added city officials plan to make more so that all 43,000 public school students in the city from ages 4 to 14 can use the high-tech shirts by 2013.
 
The AP report added the T-shirts can be washed and ironed without damaging the chips.
 
It also quoted Moraes as saying the chips have a security system that makes tampering "virtually impossible." — TJD, GMA News
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