Teachers in East Jaiñtia Hills are up in arms over the use of a mobile phone app that has been introduced to track their attendance.
Leaders of teachers’ associations from the SSA, government, non-government and deficit schools have written to the authorities against the use of the app, Ubiattendance.
The teachers felt it wrong that the teachers’ personal details have to be shared with the app’s creators, Ubitech Solutions, without proper consent and that this has “distracted and frightened” the educators, a press release said today. Another app, “GPS Map Camera” has also reportedly been forced on the teachers.
Most affected teachers of the district do not have access to smartphones that are required to host and use the app and poor mobile internet connectivity, especially in remote areas like Huroi, Borghat and Saipung, poses another big challenge to using it. Even those who do have smartphones and internet connections have not received training on how to use the app properly.
Furthermore, there has been “no consultation with stakeholders in education within the jurisdiction of East Jaintia Hills before implementation of the above-mentioned app and this has put the teachers in a panic state about what to do and what not to do.”
They also questioned why, with the roll-out of a similar app called MEG-TIMS statewide, East Jaintia Hills had to have its own specific apps.
