RTI activist demands biometric attendance for Class XII students

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, January 14

An RTI activist and Schet Punjabi Welfare Society president, Harmilap Singh Grewal, has written a letter to Education Minister OP Soni regarding ensuring physical presence of students of Class XII in CBSE affiliated private schools through electronic scan attendance machines (biometric attendance).

He has stated that it would create a level playing field for both rich and poor and boost the quality of education at schools by breaking the nexus between coaching centres and schools.

In his letter, Grewal has alleged that there are many coaching centres in Punjab, which have come up in the past few years and providing coaching for engineering and medical entrance examinations.

As much as 75 per cent physical attendance in schools is mandatory for examinations, which are to be checked by the CBSE, but as per the RTI reply he received, CBSE does not have any record of attendance of students and nor has any data of average pass marks.

Further, he has also alleged that to compensate the attendance, the schools charge extra for admission of such students and also offer dummy admission. The attendance of such students is managed without attending the school, he added.

He also claimed that these coaching centres are in cities and students of villages and small towns take admission in private schools near home towns where their attendance is taken care of by paying extra fees while they take coaching at centres in big cities.

The only check the Education Department has on these schools is the physical attendance register which is maintained by schools and the monthly test papers signed by students. Both attendance register and monthly test papers are manipulated by the schools, Grewal added.

He said private schools were also paid by coaching centres for accommodating their students and schools earn more through extra fee for dummy admission.

Grewal has also alleged that when a student clears any competitive exam and secures a seat, both school and coaching centre boast about it in advertisements. This is leading to deterioration of education standards in schools.

He has demanded from the Education Minister to direct all senior secondary schools to have electronic attendance system like thumb impression or retina scan system to ensure the physical presence of students in the school and also CCTV cameras in classes as well.

He also requested the minister to direct the Education Department to match these on monthly basis so that no manipulation is done.

Level playing field for both rich and poor

• Harmilap Singh Grewal has stated that it would create a level playing field for both rich and poor and boost the quality of education at schools by breaking the nexus between coaching centres and schools. 
• He said private schools were also paid by coaching centres for accommodating their students and schools earn more through extra fee for dummy admission. 

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