Biometric attendance machines face glitch

Tribune News Service

BHIWANI, JANUARY 21

Even as the Department of Education is set to make online attendance for the government school teachers mandatory from January 26, the frequency of glitches in the functioning of the biometric machines proves that ground work needs to be done before the final go-ahead.

Karambir Sangwan, principal, of the Government Senior Secondary School, Sanga village said: “Many teachers have to mark attendance in a register as biometric machines do not work.”

In case, the department goes ahead with the deadline, the teachers will have to bear a salary cut despite coming to work. Wazir Singh, president of the Haryana Vidhyalya Adhyapak Sangh, said why should teachers, who fail to register attendance due to a technical fault, suffer.

The situation is particularly bad in remote areas with poor power supply and no internet facility. The teachers in Umravat, Sanga, Kayla and Badala villages have difficulty marking attendance due to irregular power supply. The absence of inverters, too, has made the online attendance impossible.

District Elementary Education Officer Satbir Siwach, too, has expressed surprise over the department’s move.