E-attendance has potential to fix absenteeism in schools, improve educational outcomes

To enhance transparency and accountability in school attendance, several state government schools are implementing digital attendance systems. A system has been initiated where teachers record attendance using tablets or computers, and parents receive daily updates on their children’s attendance. The system allows regular monitoring and involvement of parents in their children’s education. The initiative was first launched under the Vidya Samiksha Kendra in Gujarat in 2022. Recently, Tripura has also decided to launch an e-attendance system for teachers and students in government schools to enhance education quality and performance. This was necessitated as the traditional manual attendance methods have been prone to inaccuracies, and manipulation, leading to inefficiencies and accountability gaps.

No scope for proxy

Sudha Acharya, principal, ITL Public School, Delhi, says, “Besides keeping a record of students and teachers, several Delhi government school principals have been provided with tabs to monitor absenteeism. An attendance record is maintained for teachers, on the manual register and biometric system, which ensures that all teachers are present for their classes, and there is no scope for proxy.”

“The Covid pandemic significantly accelerated the adoption of digital tools in education, including online attendance systems, and comprehensive digital record-keeping solutions,” she says, adding, “The move is aimed at addressing longstanding challenges related to teacher absenteeism. By leveraging technology to track attendance, the government aims to instil a culture of accountability among teachers and improve the overall educational outcomes. Teachers are required to mark their attendance electronically, providing real-time data on their presence,” she says.

Shobha SM, headmistress, Karnataka Public School, Sarakki, Bengaluru, “Digitisation of student portfolio, including attendance and academic achievement, has been adopted for quite some time now; it is maintained through Student Achievement Tracking System (SATS) across the state in all schools following state board and CBSE curriculum. Each student has been given a unique ID from LKG and his/her academic movement, and achievements can be tracked through this. This ID remains the same till the completion of class XII.”

Remote areas lack facilities

While urban schools may have the necessary resources, rural schools often struggle with basic digital infrastructure. With inconsistent electricity supply, poor internet connectivity, and unavailability of digital devices, many remote areas still lack adequate digital infrastructure. This can hinder the implementation of online attendance systems.

Acharya says, “E-attendance is a good initiative, but implementing it across the country can be a difficult task, especially when the country faces a huge digital divide. Recording attendance digitally requires teachers to consistently use tablets or computers, which will be challenging in schools with limited resources and unstable internet connections. Also, teachers need to be trained in digital systems. This can be time-consuming and affect the daily academic tasks.”

Funds for maintenance

On the lack of infrastructure in the interior regions, Shobha says, “Nowadays, network is not much of an issue; minimal digital infrastructure is provided to all schools. However, funding for maintenance is the only concern which depends on the interest of the school administration and community support.”

She says, “Maintaining e-attendance, especially of students, directly does not contribute to enhancing education quality. But if the attendance of the students goes to parents via SMS, then it will surely help in reducing irregularity which contributes to quality and retention.”

Ruling out any additional burden of maintaining attendance and other records, she says, “SATS has been maintained effectively since 2016 and has become a part of routine activity.”

Increases efficiency

Suthirtha Mazumdar, teacher, AG Church School, Purulia, says, “The government schools in West Bengal are yet to adopt the digital initiative. However, at other schools, teachers take the attendance manually and then record it online. This avoids errors and increases efficiency as we are doing it regularly else the work gets piled up. Earlier, there was scope for laxity as at times the teachers would take the attendance on a piece of paper and save it for a later date.”

Highlighting the additional burden of maintaining records, she says, “Not every teacher is tech-savvy. Initially, the technology was difficult for us to grasp as there were too many details. However, we gradually learnt the intricacies. There were a few teachers in our school to whom we could reach out in case of any problem,” she says.

She adds that the rural digital divide remains an impediment. “There are so many remote areas where this initiative will take time to reach. However, she is hopeful of things changing in terms of infrastructure,” she says, adding, “E-attendance systems can reduce errors unlike the manual attendance method. They provide accurate data on student attendance, which can be crucial for administrative purposes and monitoring student attendance trends.”

Sense of punctuality

Sushmita Kar, a government schoolteacher in Purulia, says, “The introduction of e-attendance will also bring a sense of punctuality. This will avoid the malpractices involved in the pen-paper attendance method. It is the teachers’ responsibility to stay updated and take it forward to the children.”

She adds, “Digital attendance will require teachers to be adequately trained in using digital tools. Many teachers in government schools may not be familiar with the technology needed to operate these systems effectively. Training is important for such initiatives; however, it should not be lengthy as it will make it monotonous, and teachers will lose interest.”