المعلمون و«حضوري».. هل هو تطبيق ينصف المعلم؟

For those who do not know the "Hadhouri" application outside of the "Education" sector; it is, in short: an electronic system issued by the Ministry of Education to manage the attendance and departure of its teachers. It relies on technologies such as: geographic location identification (GPS), biometric recognition (face, voice, and fingerprint recognition), and providing a dashboard that allows the school principal to access attendance, absence, and leave request data.

Before we start discussing the application; let’s agree on several points together; the most important of which are:

First: Teachers welcome any means or technical system that regulates their work, so there is no complaint about the existence of "Hadhouri" as a system.

Second: The work and environment of schools are tiring and challenging due to their diversity in several matters: managing minds, dealing with different patterns and multiple curricula, and being tied to study plans and classes within a specific timeframe, unlike employees of most other ministries who can postpone their tasks or delegate them to a colleague.

Third: Some teachers in villages and remote areas have to traverse mountain peaks, difficult obstacles, valleys, and paths to reach their schools, starting their journey long before the dawn prayer, and taking a similar amount of time to reach their schools, unlike employees of other civil entities; who begin their work at locations that are easily accessible in a short time.

I return to the "Hadhouri" application; and I say: there is a negative time spent by teachers inside their schools after the students leave, waiting for the "exit fingerprint" (set at 1:45 PM), which results in family suffering and increased operational energy for the school building at a time when the primary beneficiary (the student) has left, while the teacher has more right to that time to catch their breath at home, check on their family, and rest after a long and arduous day, which may even be dangerous.

The Ministry of Education has granted school principals and their administrations the trust to manage educational and teaching work, and there is no harm in granting them control over the attendance and departure processes in their schools as a means of motivation and support for them and for teachers to achieve positive results.

Therefore, I propose granting school principals the authority to determine the times for the attendance and departure of their teachers, according to the nature of the school, its circumstances, and what is deemed to be in the public interest.

This authority includes the following matters:

– Linking the departure of teachers with the departure of students.

– Supporting the principal’s account on the Hadhouri website to electronically manage the attendance and departure of their staff in case the system encounters issues or malfunctions, to ensure that there are no delays or obstacles for the employees.

This is a proposal I put forward to our educational leaders to assist the school principal and their staff and teachers in fulfilling their mission to the fullest.