Tamil Nadu Elementary School Teacher Federation has demanded that the School Education Department exempt those schools located in hilly areas of the Coimbatore district from taking online attendance. The Federation reasoned that there is poor internet connection in these areas.
Federation District Secretary C Arasu said, "Schools are located at the blocks of Karamadai, Anaimalai and Valparai in the district and there is a lack of internet facility, particularly at Valparai block. Headmasters and teachers could not complete class-wise register work for students on time on the School Education Department's attendance application because of the poor internet facility," as noted in a report by The New Indian Express.
"The application takes at least 15 to 20 minutes to mark the attendance for one student. As a result, teachers have to see the mobile continuously in the classroom and regular classes are hampered. Besides, it is a known fact that headmasters should send attendance reports to the concerned education offices by 11 am, if not the officers will send a memo seeking an explanation for the delay," he explained.
Other teachers also admit to these problems, as per the TNIE report. A teacher of a primary school located in Valparai, T Ranjith, said, "Except in the town, teachers could not mark the register for students. Even after knowing this, the officers ask for an explanation and we send a reply to them that poor internet connection is the cause. As this practice continues here, our routine work is affected at school."
"So, the department has to allow them to handle the attendance in the manual mode instead of the digital," Arasu requested. However, a top official from the School Education Department said, "We cannot take any decision on this matter. Despite this, we have taken this matter to top officers' knowledge," as per TNIE.
