Deceased Teachers Receive E-Attendance Notices and Pay Cut Warnings in Madhya Pradesh Administrative Error

E-attendance system was introduced across government schools in Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal:

In a peculiar incident that resembles a horror-comedy narrative, the Education Department in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa accomplished an unusual administrative blunder by sending e-attendance notices to three deceased teachers, threatening salary deductions if they failed to mark attendance on the app within three days.

According to Rewa's official records, these deceased teachers were still considered "present" in the system, despite their e-attendance being marked as absent.

The department recently strengthened enforcement of the new e-attendance system in Madhya Pradesh's government schools, issuing notices to more than 1,500 teachers for attendance non-compliance. Among these notices were warnings sent to three teachers who had already passed away.

With increased monitoring under the newly implemented digital attendance system, the Education Department sent stern warnings requiring teachers to provide explanations within three days for their failure to mark attendance via the mobile app, with salary deductions as the consequence. In this digital oversight, the department neglected a crucial step before distributing notices – verifying which teachers were still alive.

The list of recipients included three deceased teachers: Devta Din Kol, who died in 2023; Chhotelal Saket, who passed away earlier this year; and Ramgarib Deepankar, who was also deceased. Nevertheless, all three received notices essentially demanding they "mark attendance or face salary cuts."

The irony was evident – while declared "absent" on the app, these teachers remained "present" in government records. This situation raises concerning questions: if they were absent in the digital system, were they simultaneously appearing on the payroll?

Officials quickly attributed the entire mishap to a "data update error."

District Education Officer Ram Raj Mishra acknowledged that numerous entries on the education portal remained outdated and attributed the error to inaccurate information uploaded by cluster principals.

He promised prompt rectification of the error, describing it as an "oversight" rather than indicative of deeper administrative problems. However, this explanation has done little to mitigate criticism, particularly as the department continues enforcing strict compliance for living teachers while failing to maintain accurate records regarding deceased staff.

The e-attendance system was implemented throughout Madhya Pradesh government schools to enhance transparency and accountability. Initially facing resistance from teaching staff, the department has now adopted stricter enforcement, issuing mass notices to anyone not registering digitally.

However, the inclusion of deceased teachers in this enforcement effort has transformed the initiative into a spectacle, highlighting that while the state advances digitally, its data management appears significantly outdated.

This incident has caused embarrassment within the Education Department, which now faces questions about its operational effectiveness.