Tirupathi: Education department has served show-cause notices on 85 teachers of government schools in Chittoor district for failing to register themselves on face recognition attendance application.
In the notice, Chittoor district education officer (DEO) Shriram Purushottam said teachers must be fully aware that they cannot claim their salaries without marking their attendance. By failing to register themselves on the app, they have violated the rules, he pointed out.
In the notice, the DEO asked teachers why their names should not be deleted from rolls, their salary withheld, and disciplinary action taken against them. Teachers in question have been asked to give an explanation within five days, failing which action will be taken against them without any further notice.
According to sources, some of the teachers who have received notice are either on long or maternity leave, a few are visually impaired, and others have claimed that network is an issue in remote areas they are working in.
DEO has, however, maintained that by not registering themselves on facial recognition attendance app, teachers have violated the rule, which amounts to dereliction of duty.
“School education department has introduced the new attendance system to ensure that teachers maintain 100 percent attendance throughout the academic year. The intention behind serving the notice is to make everyone follow government guidelines. Those on leave also should register themselves on the app, even though they may not record their attendance,” DEO Purushottam told Deccan Chronicle.
It is learnt that having received notices, many of the teachers have registered themselves on facial recognition attendance app. Less than five teachers are yet to register. They may do so by end of Thursday.
Meanwhile, teachers’ union leaders have taken strong exception to show-cause notices, claiming the government is unconcerned about real issues. “Many teachers have problems with the network. Facial attendance app itself has technical glitches. We are requesting proper internet access and flawless devices, to which the government has not responded,” a union leader remarked.
