Biometric attendance system: Mumbai colleges miss deadline

On June 15, the state education department had issued a government resolution, making it mandatory for all science junior colleges to install biometric attendance systems.

Even as the deadline for installing biometric attendance systems in science junior colleges has passed, most colleges in the city have still not been able to set up the system.

The GR had asked colleges to comply within a month after the resolution came into effect. (iStock)

On June 15, the state education department issued a government resolution (GR) making it mandatory for all science junior colleges to install biometric attendance systems in order to put an end to the integrated coaching model for competitive examinations. The GR had asked colleges to comply within a month after the resolution came into effect.

However, even a month later, colleges said that they are having a tough time installing the system. “Most biometric machines in the market only record the in and out timings and have no way to record attendance multiple times a day. This is not at all useful as a student can just punch in and out without sitting in the college for the whole day. We had a tough time finding a vendor who agreed to customise the system for us but the machines are yet to be installed,” said the principal of a south Mumbai college.

In the integrated coaching system, colleges have a tie-up with coaching institutes and do not require students to attend college regularly.

Anil Deshmukh, professor, Sathaye College, said that it is a foolish idea to think that integrated coaching would stop by merely installing a biometric machine.

Even in colleges where the biometric system is almost in place, there is a fear that a lot of time would be lost in marking attendance. “We are not getting any funding for this and thus, have installed only one machine per class. With over a hundred students in every class, it takes a very long time to record attendance,” said a principal.

Meanwhile, the state education department has asked its officers to conduct random checks in colleges regarding their compliance to the GR.