Junior colleges may opt for biometric attendance

Pune: Considering the disparity in admission and attendance in the first year junior college (FYJC) classes, the deputy director of education has proposed biometric attendance for students.
After taking admission in colleges, students often join coaching classes and give attendance a miss. To ensure students attend classes, the education office has proposed biometric devices in 1,300 junior colleges in Pune.

The deputy director has also arranged a meeting of principals and representatives of junior colleges, which are a part of the common admission process (CAP) for FYJC admissions on January 4 and 5. Over 25 issues pertaining to students and admissions will be discussed at this meet, assistant deputy director of education Minakshi Raut said.

She added, "A few colleges already have the biometric system but it is necessary for all institutes to adopt it in order to keep track of students' attendance."

The biometric system, Raut said, will ensure that students fulfil the mandatory attendance requirement.

The education office has appointed experts, who will speak on various issues pertaining to junior colleges during the two-day workshop and clear doubts, if any.

Topics that would be discussed as part of the workshop include tobacco-free college surroundings, planning the annual timetable, preparation and counselling for competitive exams, scholarships, mother-student fair, sharing information POSCO Act, fee regulation, exam planning, log book for colleges, among others. The workshop will be held for colleges in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad at the Rajiv Gandhi Academy of E-Learning.

Raut shared, "Participants and representatives of colleges will discuss the issues they face and the required changes can be introduced in the forthcoming academic year."