NALGONDA: A month after its rollout on August 1, the state government’s facial recognition attendance system for teachers in government schools is facing major challenges, particularly in Nalgonda district. The initiative, aimed at improving standards and ensuring punctuality, has been marred by network issues in remote areas and the absence of clear guidelines.
In Nalgonda, the app is in use across 1,127 primary schools, 128 upper primary schools, 229 high schools, 27 KGBVs and 17 TGMS. Under the system, high school and upper primary teachers must log attendance at 9 am and 4.50 pm, while primary teachers must do so at 9 am and 4 pm.
Attendance even a minute late is flagged red, and the app also handles leave applications. However, teachers are still required to maintain traditional registers, creating duplication. The bigger concern is the lack of clarity on what action to take against latecomers, leaving the system largely ineffective and open to misuse.
Poor signal mars implementation
Connectivity issues remain the biggest hurdle in mandals like Neredugommu, Chandampet, Marriguda, Nampally and Peddadisharlapally. Teachers complain that even if they arrive by 9 am, poor signal delays logging by 5–10 minutes, leading to them being wrongly marked late.
Officials maintain that attendance can be synced offline and uploaded once the network is restored. But many teachers fear that the system records the sync time instead of the actual login.
United Teachers Federation district secretary N Venkanna welcomed the initiative, saying it would improve standards if properly enforced, but stressed the need for strict guidelines. Sectoral officer Virendra Nath admitted network issues in pockets like Pogilla village, but insisted constant connectivity was not required. He added that government guidelines on late attendance are expected within two to three days.