Darjeeling, March 17 -- The Primary Education department, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) has introduced an attendance system which uses photographs with real time location details embedded in them. This comes on the heels of successfully implementing a biometric attendance system at the headquarters of the Primary Education department, GTA with plans to expand the system across other levels of the administrative offices, including 13 Primary Education department Circle offices of the GTA.
"Using the biometric system is not feasible in all primary schools owing to technical limitations, especially in far flung areas. This is an alternative to that. Under this system, teachers are required to capture and send photographs at the start and end of the school day via WhatsApp to their respective School Inspectors (SI) and Assistant Inspectors (AI). These photos with realtime locations embedded in them will have to be clicked using specific mobile applications or software like GPS Map Camera. The officials will then verify and report attendance records to higher authorities. Teachers must submit their attendance photos within 15 minutes of the school opening and immediately after the school closes," stated Rajesh Chauhan, Deputy Chairman and the in-charge of the Primary Education department, GTA. The details embedded in the photos and videos include GPS coordinates, address, date and time along with altitude and compass direction.
There are 778 primary schools under the GTA. Addressing concerns about teacher absenteeism, Chauhan added: "There are constant allegations that teachers are absent from schools, which tarnishes the reputation of both the department and the educators. This new attendance system will ensure transparency and remove any unfair accusations. Teachers are fulfilling their responsibilities, but due to the misconduct of a few individuals, the entire teaching community faces criticism. This system will help rectify that."
On the other hand, the Deputy Chairman added that the biometric attendance system that has been running successfully at the headquarters in Lowis Jubilee complex in Darjeeling will also be implemented at the District Primary School Board and the District Primary School Inspector's Office. Along with this biometric machines will also be installed in Circle Offices to streamline attendance tracking.
Speaking on the decision, Chauhan stated: "We have received several complaints from teachers that, upon reaching the Circle Offices for
official work, they often find no staff present or the office closed. This wastes valuable time for teachers. To address this issue, the department has decided to install biometric attendance systems across all 13 Circle Offices under the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA)."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.