Delhi govt creates system to track school attendance

In a letter to the chief secretary, officials had said that the percentage of students attending classes in Delhi government schools had been declining

The Delhi government’s directorate of education (DoE ) along with DCPCR (Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights), has created an early warning system to prevent absenteeism in schools.

The Delhi government’s directorate of education has also asked heads of schools to monitor online attendance, especially for students who take long leaves from school. (HT Archive)

Through an online dashboard, schools will be able to monitor attendance daily and take steps to mitigate gaps in case of frequent absenteeism. The move comes months after the lieutenant governor (LG) raised concerns about the issue of absenteeism in schools.

In a circular issued on Thursday, the DoE said the dashboard had been launched for schools to curb frequent absenteeism and drop-out rates in DoE schools. “Through the dashboard, schools will be able to view the overall status of frequently absent students and monitor class-wise online attendance marking. Schools will also be able to see the cause of frequent absenteeism and undertake preventive measures to curb them,” stated the DoE in its directive.

DoE has also asked heads of schools to monitor online attendance, especially for students who take long leaves from school. School administrators have been directed to closely monitor attendance of frequently absent students and provide the necessary support to them.

Earlier in August, the LG’s secretariat had raised concern about the issue of absenteeism of students from schools. In a letter to the chief secretary, officials said that the percentage of students attending classes in Delhi government schools had been declining.

Awadhesh Kumar Jha, principal of Sarvodaya Co-ed Vidyalaya, Rohini, Sector 8, said the school tracks attendance regularly and reaches out to students if a student is absent from school for many days. “We call the student first. If there is no response, we visit the child’s home or send a staff person to enquire about the student’s whereabouts. Sometimes, children are also lax in submitting medical certificates. We keep a tab on their attendance and reach out with resources as per the requirements,” said Jha.