PRAYAGRAJ, April 9 -- In a fresh push to tighten discipline and restore accountability in government schools, the UP Board is preparing to roll out a high-tech, geofenced biometric attendance system for teachers across the state from the next academic session. The move comes soon after the conclusion of the 2026 High School and Intermediate examinations and follows a series of complaints about teachers skipping school, arriving late, or running private coaching centres during school hours. Nearly four lakh teachers serving in around 30,000 UP Board-affiliated institutions will be brought under the proposed system. Once implemented, teachers will be required to mark their attendance through a mobile application, but only from within a defined geographical boundary of the school where they are posted. The initiative aims to ensure teachers are physically present on campus during working hours and fully committed to classroom teaching. UP Board secretary Bhagwati Singh said the decision was prompted by repeated reports received by District Inspectors of Schools about prolonged and unexplained absence of teachers. In several cases, the Board also found teachers engaged in private coaching for extra income instead of teaching in the schools where they draw a salary. These complaints triggered a recent 12-day special enforcement drive to identify and act against such violations. "Teachers found guilty of running illegal coaching centres can face disciplinary action, termination of service and even a criminal case as such practice violates the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, Board's regulations, besides the Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Coaching Act, 2002," he said. Explaining the proposed system, Singh said geofenced biometric attendance would be introduced from the next academic session after consultations with all stakeholders. He described it as a need of the hour to ensure teachers remain answerable to students and parents. At present, principals are responsible for marking teachers' attendance online on the Board's official portal, a system the Board feels is no longer sufficient to prevent misuse. The move coincides with a wider crackdown on unregulated education practices across the state. From Wednesday, the Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad launched a statewide inspection campaign against unrecognised schools and private coaching centres operating illegally. The drive follows complaints from several districts about unauthorised institutions and the involvement of teachers from recognised schools in these setups. Under orders issued by the Board secretary, inspection teams led by district-level committees will carry out checks across all districts until April 18. The committees are headed by the District Inspector of Schools, with the District Basic Education Officer and Block Education Officer as members. All districts have been asked to submit action-taken reports by the end of April. Singh said the Government of India has already issued guidelines at the national level to curb the growing trend of government school teachers running coaching centres, and several states have tightened their laws. Uttar Pradesh is also revising its framework in line with these directions....