Eyebrows raised over govt mandating AEBAS

Hyderabad: Questions raised over the State government mandating the implementation of the Aadhar-enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) in all higher educational institutions.

Before Covid, the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad had asked its affiliated colleges to introduce IRIS based attendance system. The decision has come following complaints of several private management colleges manipulating the AEBAS using silicon thumb impressions to maintain fake faculty.

Speaking to The Hans India, a JNTUH official, said, for example, a college that is in Ghatkesar has recently got autonomous status. But, it has allegedly appointed a few people who would go around with the Aadhar-enabled machines and get the thumb impression of the fake faculty at their homes. In return, such faculty were paid Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 to show that the college maintains the faculty-student ratio, as per the norms.

The JNTUH had asked its affiliated colleges to shift to the IRIS-based attendance system to put an end to such manipulation. Accordingly, the colleges have purchased the machines to implement the same. But, following COVID, the machinery purchased was left unutilised.

Now, the State government mandates the AEBAS for the staff and the students.

Why is the government insisting on mandating the AEBAS when bags of complaints and allegations were received about the manipulation? Also, the JNTUH had already chosen IRIS as a better alternative, and several colleges have already purchased the necessary gadgets to implement IRIS based attendance system. Then, why the government wants to override and interfere in the autonomous decisions of the university?

At the same time, instead of writing back to the government sharing its experiences with the AEBAS and its earlier decision to shift to IRIS based attendance system, the JNTUH has given in to the government's decision. Now, the JNTUH has issued a circular to its affiliated colleges to explain the strict implementation of ABEAS before October 30 this year.

Even though the university is aware that the ABEAS was not implemented properly in the absence of any monitoring mechanism to ensure that the AEBAS was implemented properly.

The Telangana School's Technical colleges Employees Association (TSTCEA) state president, A Santhosh Kumar, said, "the fake attendance issue and the regular faculty facing troubles were highlighted several times." Representations were given to higher education, technical education and university authorities. But, there is no one to reign in to contain the manipulations of the private colleges. There were also allegations that colleges were approved to run and given affiliations without submission of proper faculty attendance reports, he added.