Biometrics system in schools sparks row

Teachers’ union dares govt. to make the programme a success. The officials in Education Department, meanwhile, claim that the new mode will ‘clip the wings’ of the erring teachers who have been neglecting their attendance.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s decision to introduce biometrics in schools to monitor the attendance has sparked a war of sorts between teachers’ unions and the Education Department.

While Mr. Naidu’s plan is to strengthen the school education system by bringing in an effective attendance monitoring system, the proposal has not gone down well with a section of teachers who are going hammer and tongs at what they call an ‘imprudent’ way of spending funds which could be utilised to address more pressing needs like improvement of infrastructure or basic amenities.

The officials in Education Department, meanwhile, claim that the new mode will ‘clip the wings’ of the erring teachers who have been neglecting their attendance. “The Chief Minister is keen on introducing the new technology in the current academic year. It will make the task of monitoring attendance easy,” says Krishna District Education Officer D. Devanand Reddy.

Dropping student attendance is a growing concern in many schools. At present, schools rely on attendance records maintained manually which do not contribute to a centralised data pool or sharing it. As per the government’s plan, the biometric attendance system (swiping machines) will replace the manual signing of attendance and once it is in place, teachers will have to spend at least six hours teaching in schools, a rule which, officials claim, is being rampantly violated.

Sources in the Education Department cite cases of teachers running small-time businesses, working as insurance agents or offering private tuitions by skipping classes.

The decision is meant to bring in accountability in teaching practices even while improving the student attendance, they say.

Interestingly, some of the teacher unions have changed tack. They have urged the government to introduce the new system and make it successful.

“When we know that it is bound to fail, why oppose it and take the blame? Besides areas like inadequate drinking water and toilet facilities, irregularities abound mid-day-meal scheme and teachers are being made scapegoats for failure of the supervising authorities,” says M. Appa Rao, Chief Editor of Upadhyaya Vani , a magazine brought out by State Teachers’ Union

Amid such chaos, we have no reason to feel positive about the success of the proposed biometrics system, he adds.