Over 1,500 teachers and staff in Nagaland failed to mark attendance using the SMILE app from February to June, prompting a warning from the education department.
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DIMAPUR — From February 1 to June 30, out of a total of 2,002 schools and establishments (data as of July 1), 132 schools and five establishments have achieved attendance above 80% using the Smart Attendance Management & Informative Leaves (SMILE) app.
However, according to an update from Shashank Pratap Singh, Principal Director, Department of School Education (DoSE) and Project Director, NEP-The Lighthouse (NECTAR), it has been observed that 27 schools have not marked any attendance, and 1,525 teachers and employees have not marked attendance even once during the same period.
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The number of schools and establishments with attendance below 50% is 1,071. It has also been observed that many employees have attempted to mark their attendance using methods that fall under the “suspicious” category.
The SMILE app, also known as the Teacher Attendance Monitoring System (TAMS), went live on February 1 this year, making it mandatory for all employees under DoSE to mark their attendance using the app.
TAMS is a pioneering initiative under the NECTAR project, implemented by the DoSE with the support of the World Bank. It employs advanced facial authentication technology coupled with geo-fencing to ensure that employees mark their attendance within the designated school and establishment premises.
This system aims to improve accountability, transparency, and accuracy in attendance tracking throughout the state.
Taking cognisance of the low attendance, the department has notified that attendance is being closely monitored; therefore, it urged all teachers and staff to diligently use the SMILE app.
Stating that action will be initiated against defaulting employees and schools, it directed heads of institutions to be more vigilant to ensure regular usage. In areas where there is no internet connectivity, the SMILE app coordinator must take the kiosk tablet to a networked area every 30 days. For redressal of any issue, users may avail of these helplines: 8974102488 / 6909644519.
It was mentioned that the department, through the NECTAR project, has provided tablet devices for all government schools and education establishments at the blocks, sub-divisions, and district headquarters. These devices serve as dedicated kiosks for marking attendance. The app also works on all Android and iOS smartphones.
Furthermore, the SMILE app is equipped with an offline attendance feature, enabling users in network-deficient areas to mark attendance without active internet connectivity. The app can store offline data for up to 30 days, which gets synchronised automatically upon network availability.
Also, the application includes an attendance regularisation feature that allows users to request correction of attendance for days they were unable to mark due to technical reasons or official duties.
During the initial rollout, users experienced several issues, including poor application performance, high dependence on internet connectivity, and long loading times due to heavy server traffic. As a result, users often had to make multiple attempts to mark attendance, with a low success rate.
Since February, the SMILE app development team has been actively addressing the issues by continually optimising the application to enhance user experience and reliability.
“Technical issues faced by users have largely been resolved, and the SMILE app has undergone significant improvements in recent months. As with any IT-enabled system, the SMILE app may occasionally face technical glitches which should not discourage its usage,” it said.