AP government dispels doubts over facial attendance

VIJAYAWADA: Education minister Botsa Satyanarayana on Thursday sought to dispel doubts over AP government introducing Face Recognition Attendance System in all government offices across the state, starting with the education department.

In a meeting with teachers' unions of AP at Vijayawada, he clarified that there is a communication gap with regard to the app related to teachers' attendance in the education department. A meeting had thus been held with teachers’ associations to clear their doubts and make changes in the app based on what association leaders say.

Satyanarayana said government is taking steps to ensure that everyone from the Chief Secretary to office subordinates use the face recognition app for marking their attendance. He urged teachers not to worry about the attendance app, as all their issues will be resolved.

Regarding reports in circulation that if a teacher comes late to school, that day will be considered as leave, the minister clarified that nothing new has been added in the app. It is in accordance with all the old rules that are already being followed when it comes to recording the attendance of employees. He pointed out that if an employee is late for the fourth time, it is considered as half-day leave; as is already the practice.

Satyanarayana pointed out that one lakh of total 1.83 lakh teachers in the state have already registered themselves with new app so far. It has been decided to consider 15 days as trial period, so that rest of the teachers can get used to the app.

The minister maintained that the government led by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is pro-employees. The aim of the state government is to provide good education to students and ensure their progress.

On the day, officials explained to leaders of teachers’ unions how the app works, though there could be problems related to network while registering the attendance.