Chandigarh Education Department starts biometric attendance

Chandigarh, April 22

With Covid-19 cases on the decline, the Chandigarh Education Department ordered resumption of biometric attendance for all levels of its employees from April 21 onwards.

However, the move has not gone down well with government teachers. “The UT Administration recently advised teachers and students to wear mask considering the cases in nearby states. At the same time, biometric attendance has been started in schools, which is contradictory to the advisory,” said a teacher on condition of anonymity. The biometric attendance for government officials and employees was suspended in March 2020 when the Covid pandemic started.

The Department of Personnel and Training, in its office memorandum, said the responsibility to ensure compliance with the Covid-19 protocol would be with the heads of departments, adding that sanitisers should be mandatorily placed near biometric machines.

“Employees should sanitise their hands before and after marking their attendance, and maintain a distance of 6 ft while doing so. If required, additional machines should be installed to avoid overcrowding,” the order read. —