Biometric attendance in colleges, UP govt sets new deadline

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government’s move to introduce a biometric attendance system in its colleges for students, teaching and nonteaching staff has failed to take off despite the deadline for the installation of machines required for the purpose.

Joint director, higher education, K.C. Verma has issued directives for principals of government and aided colleges to fix a one-week’s deadline for implementing the biometric system.

The state has 172 government and 331 aided degree colleges.

“Despite the government order no college started recording attendance through a biometric system till date which is unfortunate and unacceptable. Colleges should immediately introduce biometric attendance. In case of non-compliance, principals will be held responsible,” the order issued by Verma stated.

The biometric system digitally records a person’s fingerprint and marks him/ her present with date and time when they put the same finger into the machine scanner.

Orders for biometric systems in degree colleges were issued earlier this year, while for aided colleges, the directives came this year in August.

Last year, Governor Anandiben Patel, who is also Chancellor of state universities, introduced the practice of biometric attendance in state universities and had linked it with the monthly salary of teachers and employees.

Criticising the government’s move, president, Lucknow University Associated Colleges Teachers’ Association, Manoj Pandey said, “Biometric attendance will defeat the purpose of NEP that talks about increasing gross enrollment ratio (GER) and empowering teachers by restricting their movement. Also, if the government is so keen on biometric attendance, they should provide colleges with the machines. Colleges have no funds to make the purchase.”

He added, “With aided colleges struggling to fill their seats, the biometric attendance will further see a drop of students. Biometric attendance should also be implemented in self-finance colleges.”