Major Change in School Student Attendance Rules: New Guidelines Issued

Student Attendance Rules: To bring transparency to student attendance rates and the mid-day meal scheme, the Purba Medinipur district administration has issued a new directive. This guideline has been sent to the headmasters of all primary and secondary schools in the district. This new rule brings a significant change to the method of recording student attendance, making many old practices a thing of the past.

What are the new changes in the rules?

This directive, issued from the District Magistrate’s office, specifies several new rules for the student attendance register. These rules will make the daily class attendance management more transparent and reliable. The main changes are:

• Attendance Marking: From now on, ‘P’ (Present) and ‘A’ (Absent) must be written for student attendance. The long-standing practice of marking absence with a dot (.) has been ordered to be discontinued.
• Daily Summary: The total number of present and absent students for each class must be recorded in the register by 11 AM every day. This will ensure that the daily attendance count is finalized at the beginning of the day.
• Increased Transparency: With this new method, it will not be easy to alter the attendance data. This will also bring transparency to the accounting of the mid-day meal, as the meal allocation is determined based on the number of students present.

Why was this new rule introduced?

There is a specific reason behind the issuance of this new rule. During a mid-day meal inspection last May, several irregularities were found in the attendance register. In many cases, it was seen that a dot was used next to the names of absent students, which could be easily changed later. To prevent such irregularities, the district administration decided to implement this new and strict rule. As a result, it will be difficult to manipulate the attendance register, and the entire process will become more reliable. This directive was issued on July 30, 2025, and is to be implemented immediately. This step is expected to open a new horizon in the education system of West Bengal.