MCD midday meal data to go online to check funds misuse

To ensure that its teachers report to work on time, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will bring them under the biometric system of attendance.

To ensure that its teachers report to work on time, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will bring them under the biometric system of attendance.

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The system will be in place by July end.

In addition to this, to keep a day-to-day record of midday meals served in its schools, the MCD has decided to monitor the data online.

Last year, the civic agency suspended 18 regular teachers, including a principal, for absenteeism and dereliction of duty after carrying out an inspection.

“It was found that a number of teachers either report late to school or they used to mark their attendance and used to leave for the day. Through the biometric system, attendance will be marked at regular intervals to ensure they remain in school during the official hours,” said Mahender Nagpal, chairman of the education committee of the MCD.

For its midday meal scheme, the civic agency’s education department will record number of meals served and number of students who have attended class on that particular day. All numbers will be put online so that any bungling of funds can be noticed.

The move is part of the civic agency’s plan to introduce e-governance in its schools.

The civic agency has already started installing computers in its schools for the purpose. The administration of each school will be given the task of tallying the numbers.

The decision came couple of months after a controversy marred the MCD’s high-powered standing committee.

The opposition had alleged that the number of students benefiting from midday meal outnumber the actual tally of students.

While there are about 9.75 lakh children enrolled in MCD schools, according to the records for midday meal, there were 9.94 lakh students who were fed every afternoon.