Biometric attendance will be mandatory in junior colleges across Maharashtra: Govt

Vinod Tawde said it would ensure students attend classes regularly and help curb the growth of commercial tuition classes

The state minister for education, Vinod Tawde, on Thursday, announced that recording attendance through a biometric system would be made mandatory for junior college students, in order to curb the growth of coaching centres. In response to a question raised member of the legislative council Apurva Hirey, Tawde said that a committee had been constituted under the chairmanship of the state education commissioner to prepare a draft to formulate an act.

Vinod Tawde said that a committee had been constituted to prepare a draft to formulate an Act. (HT File Photo)

Another legislative council member, NG Ganar pointed out that several junior colleges that have tie-ups with coaching classes charge lakhs of rupees in fees. Tawde said that the biometric attendance system would be introduced to ensure that students go to classes regularly. It will help curb bogus admission in junior colleges, and restrict the growth of integrated coaching programme, said Tawde.

While a fixed deadline has not been set, the minister had made a similar announcement earlier this year stating that biometric attendance would be implemented from June next year.

Junior colleges in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Solapur, and Ahmednagar had been directed to use the biometric attendance system from 2015 on an experimental basis.