PU to install biometric attendance system for non-teaching staff

Aarti Kapur 

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 9

Taking notice of the employees in various non-teaching departments who arriving late at the office, the Panjab University authorities have decided to install the biometric attendance system. 

Punjab University is planning to introduce the system in the administrative block and Aruna Ranjit Hall where the non-teaching staff offices are located. PU Registrar Col GS Chadha said the decision had been taken to fix the accountability of the staff. He said initially it would for the non-teaching staff only.

Sources at the varsity said complaints were received from various departments that some employees came late to the office but as there was only manual attendance it was difficult to keep a check on them. Keeping in view the fact, the university authorities have decided to introduce the biometric attendance system for the staff. 

At an all-chairperson meetings in May, the authorities had planned to introduce the system in all departments and hostels for students. But no further step was taken in this regard.

The proposal was drafted after the University Grants Commission (UGC) issued guidelines that attendance of student can be marked this way to overcome proxy in departments and hostels. 

Notably, the university had also planned to introduce a unique software to register the attendance of both teachers and students online. 

The reason to introduce this software was to keep a tab on truant teachers and irregular students in various departments. It was decided that all 75 teaching and research departments of the university will be provided the software that will be connected to a common server. This server was supposed to be maintained by the computer science department of the varsity.

All students and teachers will be provided a code to register their attendance only through the department’s computer system.

 This will ensure their presence in the department and as nobody could register their attendance on their behalf. Their attendance will be updated daily on a separate web page on the university’s website, if the decision implemented.

Any teacher, department head or parent can check the attendance of students and faculty members from the university website. The university is also planning to introduce the biometric system. 

As per record, in 2009 the university had introduced the online marking of attendance in two of its departments but in six months the system failed as the faculty did not upload the attendance on a regular basis.