Department of Information and Public Relations

Press Release No. 94/23

TEACHER ATTENDANCE MONITORING SCHEME LAUNCHED IN EAST JAINTIA HILLS DISTRICT

Minister of Excise Department, Shri Kyrmen Shylla today launched the Teacher Attendance Monitoring Scheme app, which is the first of its kind in the State of Meghalaya, in the presence of Deputy Commissioner East Jaintia Hills District, Khliehriat, Shri A Baranwal, IAS and Shri A Singh, IAS, SDO (Sadar), East Jaintia Hills District who was present via video conferencing among other officials and stakeholders. The launching programme was held in the video conference room of the Deputy Commissioners Office, Khliehriat.

Addressing the gathering, Shri Kyrmen Shylla, Minister, urged the teachers to work along with the District Administration through the Teacher Attendance Monitoring app. He stated that to be able to give justice to the children in the district, the teachers must show discipline and teach discipline to the children. I believe that this app will benefit the student community in terms of not losing out because of the unauthorised absence of a teacher, the Minister also said.

Earlier in the programme, Shri A. K Singh, IAS gave a presentation, via video conferencing, on the workings of the app. He informed the gathering that the Teacher Attendance Monitoring app as the name suggests is a way of monitoring the attendance of teachers of various schools of the district that draw their salary from the Government of Meghalaya. Developed by UBI tech solution, the app works around Geo-fencing which creates a virtual barrier over a certain geographical area that triggers a response every time someone enters or exit the virtual fence, he informed.

He also highlighted the features of the app stating that the app uses a facial recognition system that reads the unique features of a face with an accuracy of about 70 percent to identify the person and registering his or her attendance even in absence of internet connection and it also allows mark attendance from anywhere for field workers after geo-fencing is enabled in the nearby locations where the fieldworker is located. Through this app we will get the report of the individual teachers level, School level, cluster level, village level, and the entire district level so if the performance of the school is going down we can directly correlated with the teachers attendance, he added.

It may be mentioned that a 15 days period will be given for all teachers in the district to register them in the app and it is further expected that by the 1st of July, 2023 all teachers of the District will be on board.

Press Release No. 95/23

LAUNCH OF STEMS SHARED COMMUTE BUS SERVICES IN SHILLONG

The Government today successfully launched the first STEMS bus catering to school students in Shillong City, under an initiative designed to improve commuting experience, reduce traffic congestion, promote sustainable and safe transportation, and enhance overall connectivity for the citizens of the state.

With the collaborative efforts of various government departments, extensive planning, and a customer-centric approach, the newly introduced bus services aim to revolutionize public transportation and provide schools students with a reliable, safe, efficient, and comfortable commuting option. The government has invested substantial resources in this initiative to ensure the highest standards of service and safety for all passengers.

The first of the fleet of 30 buses has started its service for the route starting from Umpling Football Ground to Pine Mount School. There are a total of 12 boarding and deboarding points along the route including Umpling Football Ground, Nongrah Presbyterian Church, Nongrah Mawshyieng, Nongrah, Lapalang Junction, Lumbatngen (Law U Sib), Demthring Bus Stop, Nongkhyriem, Nongthymmai, Jylli Shop, Fire Brigade, and Pine Mount Back Gate. STEMS plans to start the bus services for the other selected routes and schools in a phase-wise manner.

The STEMS bus services enable the parents to track the buses and book the seats online using the mobile application ensuring assured seats to the students. As safety is of paramount importance, the GPS-enabled buses allow live tracking and are fitted with 5 cameras each. The buses are manned by a well-trained crew of uniformed drivers and caretakers.

STEMS is dedicated to continuously enhancing the bus services based on feedback, evolving passenger needs and remains committed to maintaining the highest safety standards, ensuring the well-being of passengers, and providing a reliable and efficient mode of transportation. Three rounds of extensive and successful test runs were conducted for the pilot route, in order to ensure technical efficiency of the available services and smooth coordination between all concerned. STEMS, together with its supporting partner departments including Shillong Traffic Police, MTC, NIC, PWD (Roads) and other agencies are working closely together to ensure the best possible service to the school children of the city.

So far, STEMS has received a total of 455 registrations and queries from more than 250 parents. As the bus services take off for the schools, the Government encourages citizens to embrace this transformative mode of public transportation, and urges parents to register for the service. The service intends to also cater to officer-goers and other commuters at a later stage, in order to gradually reduce the reliance on private mode of transportation. By choosing buses, individuals can contribute to addressing the issue of congestion in the city and enjoy the numerous benefits of a well-connected city.

For further information and updates on the STEMS bus services, please visit https://stemsmeghalaya.nic.in/ or contact our customer care helplines at 0364-3500097 or 0364-3500098 during office hours or email to cc.stemsshillong@gmail.com.