Jr colleges to start with biometric attendance for all

Mumbai: All city-based junior colleges will have biometric-attendance system for faculty as well as students from the coming academic year, beginning from June 2018. The state education minister Vinod Tawde had called for the move in order to curb integrated coaching programmes in the colleges, which are allegedly taking place for the past few years. Last year, several colleges’ authorities had raised complaints against students not bothering to attend lectures.

“Instead of coming to colleges, many students attended these integrated coaching. We won’t allow this anymore and that is why biometric attendance will be made mandatory in all junior colleges for both teachers and the students,” Mr Tawde told The Asian Age on Saturday.

Grapevine is that many colleges are being taken over by private coaching classes and are run by them. These colleges try to lure the students by assuring them a ‘better future’ if they join the integrated courses provided by the private coaching. These students are ones who are preparing for entrance examinations after completing their class 10.

Parents debate that integrated courses save time of the students, as along with their regular colleges, they are being able to prepare for entrance examinations. “Entrance examinations, conducted on a national-level are usually tough and students needs around one to two years to prepare. What is wrong if the students use the first year and second year junior college-time to prepare for their entrance,” asked a parent, who did not wish to be quoted.

Replying to this, government says junior college is as important as any other degree courses. Hence, “From June, the students needs to be present at colleges for lectures and the colleges are asked to mark the attendance through biometric attendance system only,” Mr Tawde concluded.