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Jabalpur: The Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed a PIL challenging the mandatory e-attendance system for government school teachers, paving the way for the policy to continue without judicial hurdles.
A division bench of Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf ruled that the matter fell under executive policy and did not require court intervention.
This petition was filed by Sunil Kumar Singh, Chairman of Guest Teacher Coordination Committee in Ashoknagar district. This opposed the June 20 order of the school education department, which had implemented digital attendance through OurTeacher app for more than 350,000 teachers from July 1, 2025.
Singh highlighted the lack of connectivity in rural areas and warned that poor network coverage could lead to unexpected absence of teachers and cuts in teachers’ salaries away from reliable signals.
Appearing for the state, Additional Advocate General Nilesh Yadav countered that the platform promotes real-time surveillance, curbs proxy learning, and contributes to data-driven transfers and promotions.
He assured the bench that offline fall-back options exist for low-coverage areas and district officials have conducted practical sessions to familiarize staff with geo-tagged photo uploads within specified morning windows.
During the arguments, the court noted the alignment of the system with broader Education 3.0 reforms aimed at administrative efficiency.
It was observed that alternative mechanisms adequately address rural constraints, thereby eliminating the challenge prematurely.
After the bench indicated its inclination, Singh sought and obtained permission to withdraw the petition, effectively closing the case. The decision solidifies the department’s rollout, which faced initial resistance, including a partial boycott on launch day when less than ten percent of teachers logged in.
Officials report that compliance has climbed above 90 percent since training ramps up and signal boosters reach remote blocks.
State Education Minister Rao Udai Pratap Singh welcomed the order, saying it validates efforts to bring transparency in a sector that serves lakhs of students in 1.2 lakh schools.
–IANS