Why Andhra’s face recognition system for teacher attendance won’t reform education

Source– The post is based on the article “Why Andhra’s face recognition system for teacher attendance won’t reform education” published in The Indian Express on 18th October 2022.

Syllabus: GS2- Issue related to development and management of education

Relevance– Issues related to teachers

News- The article explains the issues related to the face recognition attendance system that has been put in place in schools in Andhra Pradesh.

What is the logic behind this move?

This policy change is aimed at raising the quality of education and improving the learning experiences of students.

The assumption is that the mere presence of teachers in a school is enough for the students to acquire these abilities.

What are  the issues related to this system? Teacher absenteeism got recognised as a systemic issue almost four decades ago and became a policy goal soon after that. The policies framed to ensure this have an inspectorial character rather than a reformatory one. It focuses on surveillance mechanisms. It has not yielded results. The app based system is part of that solution.

A teacher who has to be  offered incentives to download an app is expected to build intellectual abilities and make learning inquiry-driven. How marking a teacher’s face on an app will lead to the development of intellectual abilities in students remains a puzzle.

What is the way forward?

Issues related to teacher absenteeism require a humanist understanding of teachers as professionals, their predicaments and needs.

Surveillance mechanism fails to understand that teaching is fundamentally a social interaction. It is about students and teachers putting their minds together.