To check irregular attendance, Vadodara DDO implements ‘thumb’ rule

To check irregular attendance, Vadodara DDO implements ‘thumb’ rule

Waghodia installs online biometric attendance system at PHC, four taluka panchayat offices to check staff absence; more talukas to follow suit

Shubhlakshmi Shukla

Vadodara, December 3: What's ailing primary health centres? A perennial staff shortage coupled with irregular attendance. Here’s an attendance system health workers can’t thumb their noses at. For the first time in the State, an Online Attendance Monitoring (OAM) system has been installed at the Wagodhia Primary Health Centre (PHC) and four taluka panchayat offices in Vadodara district.

Under the new system, implemented as a pilot project, the staff has to thumb its presence on a day-to-day and even hourly basis during work.

The biometric attendance device was bought from the Rs 10 lakh District Development Officer M Thennarsan received with the Best DDO Award for 2004-2005.

This facility has been made operational through the government intranet system as well as the Internet.

“Higher officials can check the attendance from anywhere in the world,” says Thennarsan. That’s not all, they can also track the staff on an hourly and day-to-day basis as all the information is available on savemotherhood.guj.gov.in.

Earlier, it was tough to keep track of staff at PHCs and TDOs as follow-up of the staff was available only on a monthly basis, adds Thennarsan. Officers in the PHC would just sign the muster and walk off. It was also difficult to check shortage of staff. The biometric system will check cheating and bring discipline among government officials. A medical officer says the new system will also address staff shortage. The system has already started working in Padra, Karjan, Dabhoi, Sinor taluka offices and Waghodia primary health centre on a pilot basis.

The results have begun to show.

Waghodia PHC has 18-odd staff force, and the new system has made attendance regular. Waghodia PHC medical officer Dr Neha Desai, who commutes to and from Vadodara city everyday, says that she now makes a point to reach on time.

“Even juniors are now following suit. They have started coming to the office first to mark their attendance before going for field work,” says Dr Desai.

Under the system, the thumb impression of every staff member is taken. Every time, the staff members have to “thumb” the device which records the time. As the exercise is spaced out, it ensures staff’s presence in the primary health centre or the taluka panchayat office.

“The State Government has already installed computers at all TDO offices. It will be easier for us to set this device in the offices as it costs only Rs 5,000 and has to be connected to computers,” added Thennarsan.

District officials are also trying to install the device at Vadodara district gram-panchayats.

A study is on in Mandala and Dabhoi gram panchayats, says district information officer Sanjay Sharma, adding that around 37 OAM machines will be installed at taluka offices and PHCs shortly. Supporting software for the system has been formatted by

National Informatics Centre.

After success in Waghodia, there are also plans to implement the rule at at least 25 PHCs in Vadodara district next year.

Source: Ahmedabad Newsline, December 04, 2006