BHOPAL: Three government school teachers in Madhya Pradesh were recently sent show-cause notices for missing e-attendance. They’ll never respond—because the teachers are dead.
This unusual set of notices was reported in the Mauganj district, Madhya Pradesh. The families of Devta Deen Kol, who passed away in April 2023; Ramgarib Dipankar, who died on February 13, 2025; and Chotelal Saket, who passed in May 2025, were surprised to receive official reminders demanding that the deceased justify their ‘zero attendance’ for October 2025.
The officer signing the notices appeared to be highly committed to procedural compliance: the notices included a warning that unsatisfactory replies could result in salary deductions. The teachers were allotted three days to respond.
This was part of a wider effort by the school education department to tighten monitoring under its newly introduced e-attendance system. More than 1,500 teachers in Rewa and Mauganj districts reportedly received notices for failing to mark their attendance on the mobile app. But the inclusion of teachers who had been dead for months—and in one case, years—quickly exposed a deeper problem in the system.
For many in the community, the letters became a symbol of how easily technology can misfire when basic upkeep falls through. The district education officer of Rewa, Ram Raj Mishra, admitted the lapse but placed responsibility on school authorities.
“The letters were issued based on the data of teachers secured from the special portal containing the details of teachers. The lapse occurred because the data on the concerned portal wasn’t updated by the principals of the concerned schools through the BEOs. Such cases are very few, and the process has been initiated for updating the records on the concerned portal,” he said.
Meanwhile, the department continues to issue stern warnings to teachers, who fail to mark their attendance, giving them three days to explain themselves. The incident has made one thing clear: in its rush to enforce accountability, administration forgot to put its own house in order.
Dept yet to get its own house in order
The department continues to issue stern warnings to teachers who fail to mark their attendance, giving them three days to explain themselves. The incident has made one thing clear: in its rush to enforce accountability, administration forgot to put its own house—and its digital records—in order