MP High Court questions e-attendance issues in Jabalpur schools:Teachers to submit affidavits with date-wise details during petition hearing on attendance system flaws

The Madhya Pradesh High Court is hearing a petition against the state government’s mandatory e-attendance system. On Friday, the court asked 27 teachers, who filed the petition, to submit an affidavit giving date-wise information and explaining the problems they face with the system. The court also directed the teachers to mention the difficulties they have faced so far. The next hearing is scheduled for November 17. The teachers have claimed that the ‘Hamare Shikshak’ app faces technical glitches, network issues, and server problems. The government, however, said there are no network issues and rejected all complaints. Taking both sides’ replies on record, the court held the hearing today, November 7. Problems raised by teachers 27 teachers from various districts of the state, including Jabalpur teacher Mukesh Singh Barkade, have filed a petition in the High Court against the e-attendance system. The petitioners state that there are serious technical and practical difficulties in marking daily attendance through the ‘Hamare Shikshak’ app. Teachers said that many teachers do not have modern smartphones. It is becoming difficult to bear the cost of data packs every month. Network connectivity is weak in rural areas. The app’s server runs slow and there are difficulties in face matching. They also alleged that departmental officials are harassing teachers for not being able to mark attendance through the app. In some cases, threats of withholding salaries and disciplinary action have also been made. Government said No network or technical problem The affidavit filed by the state government stated that the ‘Our Teachers’ app is functioning smoothly and approximately 73% of the state’s teachers are regularly using it. The government denied network issues and technical glitches, stating that the remaining teachers are also being trained to use the app. Hearing held previously Earlier, in the hearing held on October 23, both sides had presented their arguments. Advocate Anshuman Singh, on behalf of the teachers, had stated that teachers are facing daily problems due to the app’s technical difficulties. The government, on the other hand, had said that this system was implemented with the aim of increasing transparency and accountability. The petitioner teachers have demanded an alternative arrangement in their petition. They have stated that either attendance should be recorded using biometric machines in schools or the previous register system should be re-implemented.