DU teachers’ body protests biometric attendance system

Colleges and departments of University of Delhi on Monday went on a day’s strike to protest the proposed introduction of biometric system to monitor teachers’ attendance, reports HT Correspondent.

Colleges and departments of University of Delhi on Monday went on a day’s strike to protest the proposed introduction of biometric system to monitor teachers’ attendance.

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The strike call was made by the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA)

The executive council of the University that met on Monday to discuss the proposal was deferred due to protests.

“We oppose this move by the Vice-Chancellor. It is an attack on the academic freedom of teachers. When we got to

the classes we mark the attendance of the students, so our attendance is marked automatically. What is the use of the new system?

The proposed system look at the teaching community with contempt.” said Aditya Narayan Mishra, president, DUTA.

“The new system will restrict the movement of teachers, which could affect their input since the teachers have to go to various libraries after classes for research,” added Mishra.

Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental said, “Teachers are required to put in a minimum of 18 hours per week. The proposed system is just a way to monitor the attendance of the teachers.

A teacher of the university who did not wished to be named agreed with the Vice Chancellor.

“The biometric system is very objective and cannot be tampered with. It is a good way of doing away with the general perception that the teachers do not take their classes regularly.

How much can a principal monitor the teachers’s attendance manually?”