Schools in West Bengal may soon move from traditional attendance registers to an artificial intelligence-based system to record students’ daily attendance. The state School Education Department is planning to introduce a mobile application that will use facial recognition technology to identify students and automatically prepare attendance records.
According to reports published on November 9, the proposed system will initially be tested in 100 government and government-aided schools. The trial is expected to begin after schools reopen following the Puja vacation. If the pilot project is successful, the department is targeting a wider rollout across the state from January 2027.
How Will the AI Attendance System Work?
Under the proposed arrangement, teachers will use a dedicated mobile application on their smartphones to record classroom attendance. Instead of calling out students’ names or roll numbers individually, teachers will take a photograph of the classroom after entering it.
The application will then use AI-powered facial recognition technology to identify students in the photograph. Their faces will be matched against a digital database containing students’ photographs and identification details, which will be prepared before the system is introduced.
Based on this verification, the application will automatically generate a list of students who are present in the classroom. It will also help identify students who are absent.
Why Is West Bengal Introducing AI-Based Attendance?
The proposed system aims to reduce the time teachers spend on routine administrative work. At present, teachers generally call out students’ names or roll numbers and mark their presence in attendance registers. This process can take considerable time, particularly in classrooms with a large number of students.
With automated attendance, the department expects teachers to spend less time maintaining daily records and more time on classroom activities.
The digital system could also make it easier for schools to maintain students’ attendance records, calculate attendance percentages and track regular absenteeism. Education officials may also find it easier to monitor attendance information through digitally stored records.
When Will the AI Attendance System Start?
The department is planning to begin the trial in 100 selected schools after the Puja vacation. The results of this initial phase will help determine whether the system can be extended to more institutions.
A statewide rollout is targeted for January 2027, subject to the success of the pilot project.
