KARACHI:
The introduction of an e-attendance system in degree colleges of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is a useful step towards improving accountability. The initiative – also featuring parents receiving SMS alerts about students’ attendance – forms part of the province’s wider effort to digitise higher education.
However, educational reform should not stop at knowing whether a student entered the classroom.
A student may attend every lecture and still graduate without the required skills. Universities and colleges need systems that monitor not only attendance but also learning outcomes, practical skills, internships, graduate employment and student feedback.
The timing is important. University leaders in Sindh were recently urged to align education more closely with technology, research and changing industry needs. Pakistan’s challenge is therefore not simply bringing students into classrooms; it is ensuring that those classrooms prepare them for the world outside.
Digital systems can help. Institutions could use them to identify struggling students, connect learners with career counselling, record practical training and gather feedback on courses. But technology should serve better education rather than become evidence of reform by itself.
Zooha Indhar
Peshawar
