Biometric attendance system a hassle for special kids

The biometric attendance system being adopted in special schools in the state has become a bothersome time wasting exercise for staff and students at these institutions.

Complaints are piling up at the social justice department that lining up students to fingerprint their attendance daily puts stress on the children and teachers and takes up more than an hour in most cases.

Two years ago, the state government decided to go in for the biometric attendance system in schools, ashram shalas, remand homes for children and women to improve the system and weed out bogus beneficiaries. More than 32,000 physically and mentally challenged kids are enrolled in 729 special schools that receive state funds.

The biometric device is installed in the principal’s office, while the central server is located at the Mantralaya state headquarters, where the attendance records are monitored. About Rs7 crore has already been spent on this system already, an official said.

So, the children from all classes have to queue up outside the principal’s office and have to be helped to register their attendance. “It is the teacher’s job to assist the kids to put their finger on the device. They don’t understand how much pressure is needed and this means that it requires repeated effort until the device acknowledges registration of attendance,” said Sneha Mayekar, principal, Mira Special School.