Students skipping classes in Chandigarh government schools will no longer be able to keep it a secret from their parents. An automated SMS is now being sent to parents as soon as children are marked absent by teachers, bringing a private-school-style attendance alert system to the UT’s government schools.
The attendance-SMS mechanism under the School Management Information System (SMIS) was rolled out on July 7 across the UT’s 111 government schools. Teachers and principals said the move had made students more conscious about skipping classes.
Nitish Singla, director, School Education, Chandigarh, said, “The system will bring accountability. More importantly, it will increase parental involvement in the education system. We hope it will help improve the attendance of children and thereby improve the standards of learning.”
The change is particularly significant for senior classes, where students sometimes skip individual periods without their parents knowing. With an automated message reaching home immediately after an absence is recorded, schools say the scope for such bunking has reduced.
According to Singla, schools are also receiving positive feedback from parents. “It has been very helpful. We have observed that bunking of classes has reduced as students know that an absence will immediately be communicated to their parents,” he said.
Officials held a meeting with principals of government schools on Wednesday to review the implementation of the system. Principals shared feedback on the attendance mechanism and its response among students and parents.
{{/usCountry}}Officials held a meeting with principals of government schools on Wednesday to review the implementation of the system. Principals shared feedback on the attendance mechanism and its response among students and parents.
{{/usCountry}}Chandigarh has 111 government schools with around 1.35 lakh students, making the system one of the department’s largest digital interventions in day-to-day school monitoring. The attendance module is also in line with the education department’s broader push towards monitoring student attendance and academic outcomes through digital systems. The department’s stated “Mission 100” targets include 100% student attendance and greater accountability in government schools.