Madhya Pradesh: Salary of 2.90 Lakh Govt School Teachers Linked to E-Attendance from December 2026

The news

Madhya Pradesh will link the salary of about 2.90 lakh government school teachers to e-attendance from December 2026, the state's Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) has decided. The new system covers 2.20 lakh regular teachers and 70,000 guest teachers across the state. Under the current arrangement, salary bills are prepared on the basis of offline attendance sheets and cluster-level reports, which officials said allowed scope for manipulation.

Under the new system, teachers will receive salary only for the days their e-attendance is recorded. The e-attendance data will be directly linked to the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) treasury portal, and the software will calculate attendance on a fixed date every month. Days without e-attendance will result in automatic salary deduction. Guest teachers' honorarium bills will also be generated only after e-attendance verification. Officials said 3 to 4 per cent of teachers have been consistently failing to mark regular e-attendance despite repeated instructions and notices. A report showed the lowest compliance in Bhind (22 per cent), Tikamgarh (26 per cent), Betul (29 per cent), Dhar (31 per cent), Shivpuri (34 per cent), Chhatarpur (37 per cent), Sheopur (39 per cent), Barwani (41 per cent), Rewa (43 per cent) and Vidisha (45 per cent).

How will the new system work?

The e-attendance portal will be integrated directly with the IFMIS treasury portal, removing the need for manual bill preparation at the cluster level. The software will automatically calculate attendance on a fixed date each month and deduct salary for days without e-attendance. For guest teachers, honorarium bills will be generated only after e-attendance verification. The state is also resolving technical glitches in the app, such as missing shift options for morning and day shifts, and is creating Unique IDs and treasury codes for about 6,000 of the 11,398 primary teachers recruited in July 2026.

What has the earlier system achieved and missed?

The earlier system relied on offline attendance sheets and cluster-level reports, which officials said allowed manipulation and made it difficult to enforce accountability. Despite repeated instructions, 3 to 4 per cent of teachers were not marking regular e-attendance. The new system aims to address this by automating salary deduction for absent days. However, the state still faces challenges in districts such as Bhind and Tikamgarh, where only 22 per cent and 26 per cent of teachers respectively were marking e-attendance, indicating that enforcement alone may not solve deep-rooted absenteeism without addressing local administrative and infrastructure issues.