The Department of Pre-University Education (DPUE) in Karnataka has announced that face recognition-based attendance will become mandatory in all state government pre-university colleges by the end of June. This initiative aims to replace the traditional manual roll call method, which lecturers have long criticized for consuming valuable classroom time and being inconsistent.
Implementation Plan
The rollout will begin in government PU colleges, with aided colleges to follow once the system stabilizes. Bharath S, Director of DPUE, Bengaluru, explained that attendance will be recorded by taking a group photo of the class and uploading it online. The system is expected to cover approximately 2.8 lakh students enrolled in I and II PUC across the state.
Pilot and Training
The system was first tested as a pilot at a government PU college in Malleshwaram, Bengaluru. To support the transition, DPUE has initiated special training sessions for lecturers. Two lecturers from each college have been trained as resource persons to train other staff members. The phased approach is due to technical constraints that prevent simultaneous implementation across all colleges.
Benefits of the New System
Under the new system, attendance will be completed within minutes. Lecturers will use a mobile application to register students and capture two photographs of the class daily. These images will be processed through face recognition technology, and the data will be transmitted directly to the department using AI-enabled tools for centralized monitoring.
Addressing Attendance Issues
The move comes amid concerns about academic performance reflected in this year's II PU results. Department sources indicated that the 75% attendance requirement was relaxed in some places, allowing students with low attendance to sit for examinations, which negatively affected outcomes. Lecturers also reported that manual attendance procedures were consuming significant teaching time.
The new system is also designed to prevent proxy attendance and address reports from some districts where students allegedly skipped regular classes to attend coaching centers. By generating accurate absenteeism records, the department expects to identify patterns early and intervene to bring students back into classrooms.
About the Author
Kevin Mendonsa has over a decade of experience in writing, reporting, and editing for print media. He has been working with The Times of India as a senior correspondent (senior digital content creator) since 2015, covering education, crime, aviation, lifestyle, and other subjects.
