Bihar Introduces e-Shiksha Kosh App for Digital Attendance Tracking
State's education department launches mobile app to monitor attendance of students and teachers in government schools
The Education Department has developed a smartphone app for attendance that will track students' attendance, which is exciting news for Bihar Board instructors and students alike. In addition to this, there will be monitoring of the teachers' presence. The Education Department's new software will be called e-Shiksha Kosh.
Students and headmasters of Bihar's government schools have now received orders to download the app from the Google Play Store. Complete student data, including instructor attendance, student performance, marks/grades, and project/assignment submission reports, can be examined digitally with the aid of the e-Shiksha Kosh portal. Teachers registering on e-Shikshakosh will need to fill in 15 columns with their name, birthdate, Aadhaar number, mobile number, date of joining, and other details.
As per the guidelines released by the Education Department, the department has determined that the technology-based daily attendance of all headmasters and teachers employed in the state's government schools (primary, middle, secondary, and higher secondary schools) as well as the technology-based daily attendance of the students should be obtained through the e-shikshakosh mobile app. The system of collecting data about teachers' and students' attendance through VC on a daily basis should be discontinued.
In the first phase of this new system, all headmasters and teachers who are currently in employment will use this mobile app to record their daily attendance. In the second phase, the children's daily attendance will also be sourced from this mobile app. In this order, it is important to note that steps are being done to give tablet computers to all government schools so that the children's daily attendance can be obtained via the e-shikshakosh mobile app. Following this, specific instructions will be provided on how to collect the children's daily attendance.
Under such circumstances, the district must take the following steps to guarantee that working headmasters and teachers use the mobile app to log their attendance online every day:
(1) The e-shikshakosh software should be downloaded by all headmasters and teachers onto their Android smartphones from the Google Play Store.
(2) Using their Teacher ID, all headmasters and teachers employed by government schools will access the e-shikshakosh app. Teachers can request a pre-generated Teacher ID by contacting the headmaster of the school if they have forgotten or do not yet have their Teacher ID. The teacher in question will receive the Teacher ID from the school headmaster, who will access the Teacher module using the school's login ID.
3) Following their Teacher ID login to the e-shikshakosh app, the headmaster or teacher will select the "Mark Attendance" button located on the dashboard. The Principal or Teacher will next choose "Self Attendance" and press this button if they are in the school and using mobile self-attendance.
It is important to note that in order to use online attendance, the principal or teacher must remain 500 meters from the relevant school. The principal or teacher will notice two (two) buttons on their mobile device—1. School in and 2. School Out—if they are 500 meters or less from the school. As soon as the Principal or Teacher arrives at the school, they will click the "School In" button on the mobile screen to register their attendance online, and when they leave, they will click the "School Out" button. It is important to note that clicking the "School In" button causes the smartphone's camera to launch in selfie mode and displays the Capture and Confirm buttons.
The photo, date, time, and other information will display on the screen once the Principal or Teacher clicks the Capture button. The "Confirm" button will be pressed if the image, time, date, and other details are accurate. The concerned headmaster or teacher's attendance will then be noted on the app along with the image and time.
(ii) Mark on Duty: Choose the "Mark on Duty" option and press this button if the headmaster or teacher is assigned to work for the government away from the school. Two buttons—1. Mark In and 2. Mark Out—will then show up on the smartphone's screen. Notably, the Headmaster or Teacher's attendance will be noted on the app upon selecting the "Mark in" button. Similarly, press the "Mark Out" button as you depart the assigned workspace.
(4) Users can raise a ticket through this portal/app if they encounter any issues. The Project Management Unit (PMU), which is created at the state level, would then take quick action to resolve the technical issue. Technical difficulties can also be resolved by calling the Project Management Unit's (PMU) help desk at 7352252816 or 9430820499.
Thus, starting on June 25, 2024, it is recommended that all headmasters and teachers employed by the district's government schools register their daily attendance using the e-shikshakosh mobile app based on Teacher ID. In accordance with this arrangement, attendance will be noted in the school's attendance register through September 25, 2024.
