Explore Biometric Attendance System To Streamline School Operations

Significance of Biometric Attendance System 

Biometric systems are fast gaining popularity in organizations across the world. But understand how a Biometric attendance system can streamline school operations. It is important to first understand what it is.

The word biometric is derived from the Greek words bio meaning life and metric meaning to measure. Thus, Biometrics is a system that is used to identify the various physical and behavioral characteristics of a person. Instead of using traditional methods of identification such as ID cards, PIN numbers, and passwords – which can be easily hacked, a biometric system uses various physical traits of a person to identify them and provide them with access to a place or software. Thus a Biometric Attendance System can be used as either a foolproof identification system or authentication system.

There are different types of attendance systems ranging from the simple that many of us use on our phones or the more complicated ones that seek to recognize vein pattern, fingerprints, hand geometry, DNA, voice pattern, iris pattern, signature dynamics, face detection and lots more.

Today, Biometric sensors have established themselves as an essential feature of identity technology and this is one of the reasons that many organizations including schools are opting for them.

How Does Biometric Attendance System Streamline School Operations?

1. Identification Of Students and Staff

One of the key benefits of using a biometric system is that it eliminated a significant portion of paperwork, formalities, and procedures associated with the creation of a traditional identity and authentication system. From collecting photographs, personal information, etc., it reduces the time the administration team spends to create identification formalities.

Additionally, these physical ID cards made by school are carelessly forgotten by the students, easily lost and often mutilated by the end of the academic year. However, the use of a fingerprint scanning system, these problems and costs are easily eliminated and new standards of accountability can be put into place.

2. Avoid the use of proxy attendance by the students

In many schools and colleges, a rampant problem is the lack of attendance by the students, who try to mask them by asking their peers to provide a proxy attendance for them.

In fact, in many examination halls, many proxy students have been caught writing exams on behalf of their friends and colleagues. This is especially common for entrance exams where there are hired professionals willing to write exams for students.

The use of a Biometric system is one of the most effective ways to address these shortcomings in the school attendance and examination system, thus ensuring a foolproof system in schools.

3. Easy management of attendance and time keeping

In every classroom across the world, teachers spend ten to fifteen minutes of precious teaching time in managing the attendance of the students. This includes taking attendance and keeping a record of the absentee students as well as the latecomers.

However, the use of a Biometric System makes this process a lot easier and faster.

Students can simply scan their fingerprints when entering and leaving the school or the classroom and the system will automatically take care of various details such as attendance, timing, late coming, leaving early, half days, etc.

4. Identifying the day-to-day movements and activities of the students

Throughout the course of the school day, students move from room to room – often accessing the computer library, the laboratory, borrowing books, visiting the school medical room, or being called to the school office and even traveling on the school transport.

It can be tedious to keep track of the various movements of the student. However, the use of a biometric system makes it easy to keep track of the students, as well as ensure that they do not get access to unauthorized parts of the school.

Thus, the use of a biometric system can not only keep track of the movements of the students around the school, but it can also be used for student identification school events and practice sessions to out other students who don’t belong.

5. Maintaining privacy and security of school data

The school ERP software often has many confidential files and data related to the students and the teaching staff such as personal contact details, banking information, medical records, etc. Often the system also has essential administrative records such as financial records of the school, taxation details, land records, etc. The use of a biometric system as an authentication method ensures that only privileged persons have access to this essential information – which if leaked would hamper the day to day working of the school.

6. Visitor access to the school premises

Creating a controlled environment is critical to maintaining a safe and secure school environment. Therefore it is essential to only allow access to authorized persons inside the school campus.

Using a biometric system the various recurring visitors like visiting teachers, temporary professors, laborers, parents, or any other regular visitors can be accurately time-stamped and identified. The system will also ensure the school administrators that those entering their schools actually belong there and that the unauthorized persons can be correctly denied entry into the campus.

7. Cafeteria and Library Management

Today, many schools offer cafeteria services and it is often difficult for the cafeteria teams to keep track of the number of students eating or the placing order as this number can vary on a daily basis. However, the cafeteria can use biometric systems to eliminate this problem.

By using the biometric system, the cafeteria can keep track of the students availing the meal facilities, vending machines and accurately report those while automatically adding the bill to the student’s account. This saves students the hassle of carrying exact change or keeping the money safe in class. By implementing a biometric system in the cafeteria there is an accurate report created of students accessing the meals, the students entitled to free or reduced meals.

Similarly, the school reference library and lending library houses thousands of books – often worth a lot of money. Librarians who can access to the biometric system can use the software instead of library cards to keep a track of students who have borrowed books, overdue books and well as all pending library late fees.

8. Transportation System

The use of a biometric system in a school transportation system ensures that only the authorized, background checked drivers and cleaners are on the bus. It also ensures that students enter the right bus. It avoids the danger of young students getting lost or getting off at wrong schools and bus stops.

These are just some of the various ways in which schools can not only streamline their day to day operations but, they can also ensure that the students remain safe, the data secure and the staff has a reduced workload.