Biometric to track attendance of teachers, students

Karimnagar: With a view to streamline higher education system in the State, the Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) has decided to introduce biometric system in colleges to record the day-to-day attendance of both students and teachers through online.

All university constituent and affiliated colleges were asked to install biometric systems by the end of December this year. In this regard, TSCHE is preparing a portal.

It was also discussed in a day-long meeting held with the in-charge Vice-Chancellors and Registrars of 11 state-run universities and officials of TSCHE and Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Kadiyam Srihari.

Experts in the teaching field opined that there were two benefits with the introduction of biometric system in colleges.

One was to put an end to the manipulation of student’s attendance to claim scholarships by the college managements and another was to enhance the educational standards, especially in government colleges by directly monitoring the attendance of both students and teachers.

There were a number of incidents of manipulation of attendance by private colleges for the sake of scholarship. The students were given full attendance even though they were absent, to draw scholarship.

Moreover, the education standards in the government colleges have drastically fallen in the State. Several number of government colleges, wherein the students used to compete to take admissions, have fallen to dismal situation due to lack of strength.

Surprisingly, government degree colleges belonging to Karimnagar district, in the beginning of academic year, printed a pamphlet highlighting the facilities and infrastructure in their respected colleges.

Pamphlets were distributed in different towns asking the students to join their colleges. Frequent absent by the teaching faculty to the colleges was also one of the main reasons for the students to get attracted towards private institutions.

Speaking to The Hans India, TSCHE Vice-Chairman Prof S Mallesh, who was here to participate in a programme on Sunday, opined that it was possible to check the manipulation of attendance by the private institutions.

At the same time, the attendance of both students and teachers would be under surveillance in government institutions.They were preparing a portal, he said and informed that it would be very simple to monitor the attendance of each and every college across the State by sitting in Hyderabad,

once the process was completed. Social welfare department could get the same attendance particulars directly from TSCHE to sanction scholarships, he said.