PRAYAGRAJ, July 14 -- The Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (U.P. Board) has sounded a warning to over 28,000 secondary schools across the state for failing to comply with mandatory online attendance norms introduced this academic session. Despite the launch of a new online attendance portal and mobile application from the beginning of the current academic session, a recent review revealed that most schools failed to submit daily attendance records, defying the board's June 30 order. Taking serious note of the situation, UP Board secretary Bhagwati Singh issued a fresh directive on July 11 to all district inspectors of schools (DIOSs), instructing them to ensure strict compliance. As per the directive, all secondary schools -- whether government-run, government-aided, or privately managed -- must upload daily attendance data of students and teachers during the first period using the official online platform. "In schools where GPS-based location mismatches occur during online attendance uploads, principals must stand at the school gates and upload photographs through the mobile app. The photos should clearly show the schools' names to ensure accurate geo-location verification," Singh said. The directive further mandated that details of newly-appointed or transferred teachers must be uploaded by school principals through their logins on the U.P. Board's website. This step is essential to enable these teachers to be included in the online attendance system, officials from the secondary education department said. The board warned that any violation would invite disciplinary action, with accountability being fixed for lapses. The online attendance system, launched as part of a large-scale initiative on July 1, applies to students from Classes 9 to 12, as well as teachers in all affiliated schools. Each affiliated school has been provided with a unique login ID and password to access the specially developed attendance software. According to an earlier communique issued by the U.P. Board secretary, online attendance must be marked through the designated portal accessible via the homepage of upmsp.edu.in, or through the 'UPMSP-Attendance' mobile app available on the Google Play Store. Principals must log in using the schools' credentials to upload the data. In cases of absence, reasons must be recorded. Importantly, attendance can only be marked from the school premises. Class teachers are required to first mark attendance manually, then submit the records to the principal office, where the data will be uploaded to the board's portal. On June 30, the U.P. Board had issued detailed guidelines to all school principals regarding the new daily attendance protocol, effective from July 1....