Sitapur tops in digital attendance of students in U.P. govt primary schools

Teachers in Sitapur top in digital attendance, Prayagraj teachers rank 4th in UP. Only 10% of students have digital attendance marked, officials aim for 100%.

Amidst resistance by teachers against taking daily attendance of students using tablets in government-run primary, upper primary and composite schools of Uttar Pradesh, teachers of Sitapur have emerged at the top in maintaining digital attendance while teachers of Prayagraj have bagged the fourth position as per the latest records of the state basic education department.

Students in a classroom at a government-run primary school in Prayagraj. (HT file)

Despite all efforts, out of 1,67,84,645 students of classes 1 to 8 registered in 1,33,035 government-run primary and upper primary schools, digital attendance of mere 12,76,248 students have been possible till date. This means that less than 10% of students are having their attendance marked through the tablets, officials say.

Director general, school education, Uttar Pradesh, Kanchan Verma has sent an online attendance report of March 7 to basic shiskha adhilaris (BSAs) of all the districts, a copy of which is with HT, and instructed them to ensure 100% attendance of students through tablets.

Barring Sitapur, in no other districts even 30% of the students have got their attendance marked online. In Sitapur, out of the total 5,54,808 students, attendance of 2,28,454 or 41.18 percent children was marked through tablets.

In terms of ensuring digital attendance of students, teachers of Lucknow are at 46th place, those of Varanasi are at 20th place, of Agra at 49th, Meerut at 51st, Kanpur Nagar at 53rd, Kanpur Dehat at 55th, Ghaziabad at 61st and Gorakhpur is at 68th place.

Basic shiksha adhikari, Prayagraj, Praveen Kumar Tiwari said in the district, the number of teachers marking attendance through tablets is gradually increasing. “Efforts are being made to ensure 100% attendance online as soon as possible,” he added.