Ludhiana: Online attendance rollout delayed due to portal glitch

Teachers maintained that while digital reforms are welcome, such changes will not be effective unless teacher strength in government schools is improved

Ludhiana

Students during a session at a government school in Ludhiana on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

The new academic session in government schools began on Wednesday with plans to introduce online attendance marking for students, but technical issues in the management information system (MIS) portal have delayed the rollout.

Under the MIS 2.0 initiative, schools were to mark attendance online from day one, with automated SMS alerts to be sent if a student remains absent for three consecutive days. The system was also highlighted during the mega parent-teacher meeting held on March 28.

However, teachers said the process could not begin as scheduled due to glitches in the portal. Government Teachers Union district president Jagjit Singh Mann said the attendance was to be marked online from the first day, but technical delays have stalled implementation.

He also flagged staff shortages, saying several schools are being run by a single teacher or through deputation due to the absence of regular staff, making it difficult to implement new digital systems.

Echoing similar concerns, a primary school head teacher said he has been the sole teacher in his school for the past 10 years and is expected to handle both academic and administrative glitches work. He said the introduction of new systems has further increased the workload.

Teachers said that while digital reforms are welcome, they will not be effective without improving staff strength in government schools.

As per directions issued by the director general school education-cum-state project director, district education officers have been asked to ensure immediate implementation of the attendance module, with schools required to update attendance on the e-Punjab portal within two hours of the start of classes.

Deputy district education officer (elementary) Manoj Kumar said the system is likely to become operational by next week once technical issues are resolved.