State education department seeks biometric attendance data from schools

The state education department, on a circular dated December 17, has asked schools across the state to send reports on attendance of students and teachers using

The state education department, on a circular dated December 17, has asked schools across the state to send reports on attendance of students and teachers using biometrics.

HT Image

Biometric attendance was introduced in all schools to improve reduce absenteeism among teachers and students and also to track the number of teaching days, but many schools that do not have internet facilities have not been following the rules.

Shools have now been asked to inform the education department about the status of inspections and the action taken in case there is low attendance by teachers. The move comes in the wake of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD)’s directions to all states asking them to furnish details which will be helpful in preparing the School Education Quality Index (SEQI) for the upcoming academic year (2020-21).

This year, Maharashtra had recorded poor performance in comparison to its earlier records. While the state had ranked third among 20 states in 2018, the rank fell to six this time with the state performing poorly, especially in areas like infrastructural facilities and outcomes and equity. SEQI evaluates the performance of all the states on the basis of 33 key learning parameters.

While the state’s overall performance score increased from 58.6% in 2015-16 to 62.5% in 2016-17, other states like Gujarat, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh which had earlier scored less moved up on the indicators.

The circular also asks schools to furnish details about public-private partnership (PPP) and Corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds that the school might be receiving every year. They also have to show their expenses against the amount received. Teachers said that it is possibly the third circular in this year asking for different data sets.

“The department should ask for all these details once and for all. It is a cumbersome process to collate information when teachers are anyway overworked with other duties,” said a suburban school teacher.