Student attendance systems are often a priority for schools, colleges, universities, coaching institutes, tuition centers, and other educational organizations. Traditionally, roll calls, register entries, student signature sheets, etc., were mediums for achieving this goal.
Technological developments have helped in evolving the attendance management system, but some educational institutions still use outdated solutions. The versatile range of attendance solutions available in the market compelled us to jot down the most frequently opted choices and the best amongst them all.
3 Most Commonly Sought-After Student Attendance Tracking Systems
- Biometric
- Roll Calling
- RFIDs
1. Biometric
Biometrics have become one of the most convenient and secure modes of managing student attendance management. Unlike its counterparts, it helps to avoid vulnerabilities like buddy punching or proxy attendance, classroom bunking, and error-driven attendance record keeping.
Earlier, physical biometric systems were opted for by educational centers; however, in today’s technologically advanced error, contactless biometrics are overpowering the market. Nowadays, face recognition attendance systems allow group presence marking, enhancing classroom productivity.
They even decrease the workload of administrators, invigilators, and teachers by removing the need to manage attendance registers physically or access historical attendance data.
2. Roll Calling
The idea of roll calling and marking present or absent on registers has been a practice of many schools, colleges, and universities. It remains at large at many of the educational institutions; however, it comes with significant drawbacks.
For example, proxy attendance happens when a student mentions “Present Ma’am/Sir,” on behalf of his friend. Another alternative attendance tracking system that is commonly used is signature signing sheets.
The teacher checks the signatures of the students against their names and marks attendance on a physical register. The vulnerabilities in such a system are similar to roll call; however, the anonymity of the signer becomes even more, as the signatory is the right person but often never gets verified.
3. RFIDs
The practice of punching cards at school gates became one of the early solutions to track student’s on-site presence. It also initially helped to ensure classroom presence, mainly if the student carried it every day.
Unfortunately, the punching card possesses the same vulnerability of time theft as roll call. Instead, a friend or classmate can punch on behalf of another student. Under such a circumstance, the student has bunked the class, and many times, the teacher doesn’t notice, as they believe that students have entered through their RFIDs.
The false notice also reaches the parents and the principals. Nowadays, RFIDs also come with an in-built location tracker. So, if a student has given his card to another student, the location will show at the educational institution, which can become problematic if the student is missing.
Which is the Best Student Attendance System?
Our verdict for the best student attendance system goes to face recognition. It ensures the presence of the students on site or inside the school premises. Moreover, a face recognition system with liveness detection eliminates the risk of proxy attendance, as it avoids attempts of tampering or spoofing through videos, pictures, etc.
Additionally, a face recognition attendance management solution with group attendance can help to enhance classroom productivity by marking the attendance of multiple students at once. It will decrease time spent otherwise on roll calls, signature sheet signing and collection, and register entries.
Conclusion
Attendance is a crucial aspect for all educational institutions, be it a coaching center or a school. The availability of a range of student attendance systems makes it challenging for institutions to make a choice. However, it is usually ascertained based on aspects like budget-friendliness, user convenience, and security.
Many times, educational institutions may choose a traditional or outdated attendance solution such as RFIDs, signature sheet entries, or roll calls that come with significant drawbacks. Primarily, they come with vulnerabilities like attendance spoofing, time theft, inaccuracy in geolocation, and classroom bunking, among many others.
A contactless biometric attendance system driven by in-built liveness detection, geolocation, geofencing, and other security features can help in overcoming such challenges. So, switching to new-age and next-gen solutions should become the optimal choice for educational centers looking for a student attendance system.
Transforming Attendance Hassles into Effortless Solutions!
