SAMBALPUR: THE Gangadhar Meher University (GMU) in Sambalpur will soon start biometric attendance system for students to ensure 75 per cent attendance which has been made mandatory from last year. The decision to install biometric systems was approved by the university syndicate six months back and a tender was subsequently floated. The university has procured 55 biometric machines to be installed in 26 departments by the end of August.
Each department will get their own machines to record student attendance and departments with greater student strength would be provided with multiple machines. There are nearly 5,500 students in the university.
While eight to 10 machines will be installed in Commerce department which has been divided into four sections having over 400 students, other departments with moderate strength will have up to five machines and the smaller departments will get two machines for both UG and PG students.
Deputy Registrar of the university, Uma Charan Pati said students have been asked to record their fingerprints from August 23 to 29 and the university is deciding whether the attendance will be taken per class basis or per-day basis. After the creation of the biometric database, the new attendance system will be operational from September.
In the later phase, contact numbers of parents or guardians of the students will be linked with the system which would keep them updated about the attendance status of their wards. “It is necessary for ensuring the quality of education” he added.