Jammu and Kashmir tightens school attendance monitoring

The Jammu and Kashmir School Education Department has implemented a new framework to tighten attendance monitoring in government schools. The measure aims to ensure transparency and prevent the recording of fictitious or proxy attendance through the JK Smart Attendance application.

Under the new regulations issued by Commissioner/Secretary Ram Niwas Sharma, teachers are required to physically verify the presence of every student before uploading attendance digitally. To ensure accuracy, schools must now maintain manual class-wise registers and record attendance twice daily—once at the start of the day and again before departure.

Heads of Institutions are responsible for reconciling manual and digital records and must conduct surprise checks. They are also required to provide monthly certification confirming that attendance was physically verified. Supervisory authorities, including Chief and Zonal Education Officers, will conduct regular inspections, prioritizing schools that report abnormal attendance patterns, such as prolonged 100 percent attendance.