Andhra Pradesh 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 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.
Dropping student attendance is a growing concern in many schools. At present, schools rely on attendance records maintained manually which does 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. (Source: Security Today)
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.
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