The Green Party has called for the movement of students from primary to second level schools to be traced through a tracking system.
The Greens said PPS numbers should be used to catch pupils dropping out of the school system and those not enrolling in second-level education.
A new post should also be created in each school to help students make the transition from primary to second level, the party said.
Green Party education spokesman Paul Gogarty
The two schemes were announced by Green education spokesman Paul Gogarty as part of the party's 50 Steps To A Better Education System.
Mr Gogarty said that with 1,000 children failing to make the transition between primary and second level, it was essential that new mechanisms were created to monitor their movements.
"It is scandalous that there is still no comprehensive database of primary school pupils," he said. "A system based on PPS numbers has been talked about for years, but the political will has not been exerted to get it up and running.
"As a result children who drop out of primary school cannot be properly tracked. We need a secure system put in place with proper checks and balances that apply to all sensitive personal information."
The party also pledged that if elected to Government this year, it would allocate €2.7 million towards providing a new dedicated special duties teacher position in each of the 742 second level schools nationwide.
That person would meet students and parents before their entrance into first year, providing them with information, induction programmes and supporting their needs in the first few months in school.