Telangana: Govt schools in State to adopt facial recognition system soon

AI-based system

♦ AI-based facial recognition to replace manual attendance in TS schools

♦ Android app eliminates paper register, launch by September end

♦ 26 lakh students in 26,000 schools benefit from the new system

♦ Extension to teachers planned after successful implementation among students

♦ Biometric attendance is already in use for teachers in 15 districts

Features

♦ As part of the FRS solution, the AI algorithm will not capture the photos of the end user, but it only generates a secured binary template based on 72 points in the face

♦ Solution takes a small thumbnail of the student which is less than 5KB and will be used to match the student against the name

♦ All the facial templates are securely encrypted and stored in the custom file format within the department-provided infrastructure i.e. in SDC only

♦ These captured AI-based facial templates are used only for academic objectives by the Department designated authorities only. The data will not be used for any other purposes other than for the intended purpo’ses of the Department

Hyderabad: Manual attendance system in government schools across Telangana will vanish soon, as the School Education Department has planned to introduce an Artificial Intelligence-based facial recognition system to record students’ attendance.

It is an android mobile-based application that aids in capturing attendance in the classroom by removing the age-old practice of recording attendance in registers. The department has planned to introduce this new system in the government schools by the last week of September.

Ramesh, Additional State project director, Samagra Shiksha, said, “As we are all aware that students, academicians, and staff management are critical components in the School Education system, the Education Department has decided to adopt the latest technological advancements to carry out the attendance by addressing the needs and challenges of the current processes. The Department has engaged the agency M/s, RNIT Solutions and Services Limited to carry out the implementation of Facial Recognition attendance management system."

Once this application is launched students' facial details will be taken, and those details, together with the student's credentials, will be retained in the application. To take attendance, a teacher needs to capture a photograph of the entire classroom and the facial details of students captured in it will automatically synchronise with the details saved in the application, and attendance will be marked.

This new system will be implemented for 26 lakh students studying in 26,000 schools, including government and local body schools, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, Model Schools, and Telangana Residential Educational Institutions, he added.

“Initially, the facial recognition attendance system will be implemented for government schools students under the department and later it will be extended to teachers. Currently, biometric attendance is in place for teachers working in 15 districts,” said a senior officer, Education Department.