NMC rolls out face-based Aadhaar attendance to stop ghost faculty practice

New Delhi,UPDATED: Apr 24, 2025 11:27 IST

In a move to combat the issue of "ghost" faculty members, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has mandated the use of face-based Aadhaar authentication for marking faculty attendance at medical colleges across India. The new system will fully replace the existing biometric attendance system starting from May 1, 2025.

According to a public notice from the NMC, all faculty members are required to install a face-based Aadhaar Authentication App on their mobile phones. This app is available for download on both the Android Play Store and the Apple App Store. The shift to this system aims to enhance the user experience and improve accuracy in attendance recording.

Currently, attendance at medical colleges is tracked through the Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS). However, starting May 1, 2025, the NMC will discontinue the use of fingerprint-based devices for attendance and will exclusively use face-based biometric verification.

The move is designed to prevent fraudulent practices, including the use of "ghost" faculty members who are only present during inspections.

The NMC has also instructed all medical colleges to provide GPS coordinates of key locations on campus, ensuring that attendance can only be recorded within a 100-meter radius of the specified points. This step is meant to further streamline the process and reduce the chances of attendance manipulation.

Additionally, the NMC has emphasised the importance of this new system in eliminating the practice of "ghost faculties" — where faculty members are reported to be present during inspections, but are otherwise absent. This has been a longstanding issue in some colleges, particularly in subjects like anatomy, biochemistry, forensic medicine, pharmacology, and microbiology.

Last year, several medical colleges in Karnataka, including government institutions, were penalised for not meeting faculty requirements, prompting the NMC to take stricter actions.

With the new system in place, the NMC will now be able to directly monitor faculty attendance, ensuring greater accountability across the nation's medical colleges.