Bhubaneswar,6th Nov 2025: The government had arranged for biometric attendance. It was announced that teachers and students of all schools in the state would mark their attendance online. For this purpose, the Unified Attendance System (UAS) was implemented by the School and Mass Education Department. However, the initiative did not succeed.
In most schools, attendance could not be recorded through the UAS. Teachers reported difficulties in marking entry and exit attendance. Errors were occurring in latitude and longitude data. Additionally, problems arose due to staff transfers and deputations. The School and Mass Education Department is now concerned about these issues. District Education Officers (DEOs) and Block Education Officers (BEOs) have been instructed to find solutions. Meanwhile, teachers are opposing the UAS system.
The state government has implemented biometric attendance in all government offices. Similarly, biometric attendance has been made mandatory in all colleges and universities across the state. In these areas, the School and Mass Education Department introduced online attendance via the Unified Attendance System (UAS). It was initially launched in pilot mode. Later, the department faced challenges such as app errors and network issues, which prevented proper functioning.
The department had instructed all District Education Officers in April to implement the system from the current academic year. However, it could not succeed. Except for a few schools and districts, the system failed everywhere. Teachers cited issues like app errors and network problems and did not mark attendance. This has become a serious concern for the department.
Today, the department issued letters to all DEOs and BEOs. The Odisha School and Mass Education Programme Authority (OSEPA) has been strictly instructed to ensure that attendance of teachers and students in all government and government-aided schools is recorded daily through the UAS. The attendance data will be submitted daily to the National Vidya Workers’ Center (RVSK).
Schools facing technical issues with the app have been instructed to resolve problems by 31st October and mark daily attendance. The SPO Technical Support Team has also been directed to provide necessary assistance. The President of the Primary Teachers’ Association (PISTA) stated that the system should be implemented after preparing the groundwork; otherwise, protests will intensify in the coming days.
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