Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The state government’s compulsory e-attendance scheme for school teachers appears to have stumbled right out of the gate. A week after implementation, less than 10% of the state’s 2.5 lakh government school teachers have logged in using the designated mobile app.
On Monday, only 22,986 teachers used the ‘Hamare Shikshak’ app to register their ‘in’ time, even though the system was made mandatory from July 1. On launch day, just 19,000 teachers marked their entry, and a mere 9,300 logged their exit time on the same day.
The scheme requires teachers to mark their attendance twice daily—on arrival and departure—via GPS on the Education Portal 3.0. However, poor network access, technical glitches and usability issues are hampering compliance.
Officials from the Directorate of Public Instruction acknowledged problems with the app and said that district education officers (DEOs) have been given monitoring access. “Our technical teams are working on issues. Once resolved, we will take a tough stand,” an official said, adding that around 1.5 lakh teachers have registered on the app.
Singrauli district, predominantly tribal, has emerged as the top-performing district in terms of compliance so far.
State President of the Government Teachers’ Association Upendra Kaushal said, “At many places, there is no mobile network. Teachers can’t access their profiles, and photo scanning often fails. If they spend an hour a day trying to mark attendance, when will they teach?”
‘Govt is committed’
Director of Public Instruction, KK Dwivedi said, "It is just one week since e-attendance was made compulsory. The app is fine and working. Still, we are resolving complaints and grievances. The government is committed to implementing the decision".
