‘Biometric attendance system would be installed in govt students hostels’

CHENNAI: Following complaints that many school and college students were not staying in the government hostels regularly, a biometric attendance system would be installed in all the staying points to curb the irregularities.

In order to facilitate poor minority students to continue their education, the Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare Department is running 18 minority hostels with free boarding and lodging facilities.

The number of minority college students, who were staying in nine hostels, is 688, in five school cum college hostels, as many as 207 beneficiaries were utlising the facilities and in four school hostels, a total of 203 school children were lodging.

In addition to this, Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department also provides hostels (1,300) to more than 98,000 for college and schools students across the State.

Meanwhile, a senior official from the Higher Education Department, seeking anonymity, told DT Next that as it was reported that to watch not only the student's staying in the hostels but also to monitor the activities of some staff, who were not coming to the hostels regularly.

"It was also noticed through the complaints that certain students, who come in the afternoon to the hostel and leave to their home in the evening without staying", he said adding "certain hostel staff have also indulged in the same manner."

The official said after considering all the complaints and the requests, it was decided to install biometric attendance in all the hostels so that all the activities of both the students and the hostel staff will be monitored.

"The attendance will be monitored in the headquarters of the both departments", he claimed