HYDERABAD: The manual attendance system in Social Welfare schools and colleges across Telangana will soon be replaced, as the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions (TGSWREIS) plans to introduce a facial recognition system (FRS) in its 268 institutions, reports Meghna Nath of The New Indian Express.

According to officials, the society intends to adopt the Telangana School Education department’s work order and launch the FRS as a three-month pilot project. The system will replace the age-old register-based practice and will record attendance twice daily—morning and evening. It will automatically log attendance to ensure accuracy and efficiency.

Once introduced, students’ facial details and credentials will be stored in the application. To take attendance, a teacher will capture a photograph of the classroom, and the system will automatically match faces with stored details to mark attendance.

A senior TGSWREIS officer told TNIE that the new system would cover 268 institutions with around 1.7 lakh students. It will first be implemented on a trial basis, and if results are satisfactory after three months, the traditional system will be phased out.

Principals have been instructed to ensure the mobile application is functional and to complete the registration process. The trial is planned to begin in the first or second week of December.