Around 1,600 city schools still waiting for implementation of attendance bot

Mumbai: Around 1,600 schools across the city including BMC-run and government-aided schools, are still awaiting orders from the local bodies to implement online attendance. An initiative started by the state to enhance transparency and efficiency, government schools will have an online attendance registration system named the ‘attendance bot.’ from December 1.

The new system requires teachers to download a specific mobile application for seamless entry of attendance data. As per the planning in the first phase, 1,600 schools across Mumbai will also be a part of the new attendance system. But till December 9, no school from the city participated in this initiative as BMC has not received any notice from the state government.

The control room of this system is being set up in Pune. A principal from a Jogeshwari-based school said, “Till today, I have not received any official communication from the department to implement an online attendance system. I know about this new system from various social media platforms, where teachers across the state are connected. Without receiving any order, I am not able to take part in this system.”

Another principal from the Vikhroli-based school said, “As per my knowledge, some teachers outside of Mumbai who have started marking attendance via mobile application are facing some issues. Considering this, the government is not ordering city schools to implement this.”

This initiative, mandated by the Maharashtra Prathamik Shikshan Parishad (MPSP), aligns with the broader Maharashtra Shikshan Samruddhi Kendra (MSSK) project—a technology-driven model designed to centralise data from government, aided, and civic-run schools across the state. An officer from the education department stated, “We are working on it. Very soon, you will see the online attendance bot in city schools.”