Biometrics system in schools sparks row

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s decision to introduce biometrics in schools to monitor the attendance has sparked a war of sorts between teachers’ unions and the Education Department. While Mr. Naidu’s plan is to strengthen the school education system by bringing in an effective attendance monitoring system, the proposal has not gone down well with a section of teachers who are going hammer and tongs at what they call an ‘imprudent’ way of spending funds which could be utilised to address more pressing needs like improvement of infrastructure or basic amenities. As per the government’s plan, the biometric attendance system will replace the manual signing of attendance and once it is in place, teachers will have to spend at least six hours teaching in schools, a rule which, officials claim, is being rampantly violated. Besides areas like inadequate drinking water and toilet facilities, irregularities abound mid-day-meal scheme and teachers are being made scapegoats for failure of the supervising authorities,” says M. Appa Rao, Chief Editor of Upadhyaya Vani, a magazine brought out by State Teachers’ Union Amid such chaos, we have no reason to feel positive about the success of the proposed biometrics system, he adds.