School children at 11 schools in southern China are being forced to wear to wear 'intelligent unforms' to improve attendance and increase safety, prompting a backlash from privacy advocates.

The uniforms have two GPS chips embedded into the shoulder pads that show when a student is entering or exiting school grounds, and automatically sends the data to parents and teachers. 

They are also linked to the child’s face, so students wearing swapped uniforms are identified at the school entrance using facial recognition.

The clothing, which developed by Guizhou Guanyu Technology, was quietly introduced in July 2017. 

It came under scrutiny when it emerged that the technology can also track student movements and behaviour after school hours, though school leaders say they 'choose not to.'