Kuwait picks contractor for biometric attendance system in public schools
From next academic year, all public schools in the Kingdom of Kuwait are expected to have a fingerprint biometric system to record the attendance of teachers and other school administrators. The supplier of the system has already been selected, according to local media reports.
Arab Times in an article citing Kuwaiti daily Al-Qabas mentions that the firm to supply the biometric scanners and software has already been selected and the contract will be signed in the coming days. The selected firm is not mentioned.
Going by the outlet, the contractor will supply 2,770 fingerprint devices for a total cost of 350,000 Kuwaiti dinars (US$1.1 million), and the devices will be installed in all the schools concerned.
The project, which will kick off from the start of the new academic year in September 2023, is overseen by the Ministry of Education, which says it has already secured regulatory approval, including signature, from the Audit Bureau for the finalization of the deal.
The Education Ministry is said to be bullish about the move given that the fingerprint biometrics attendance system it is the only method approved in the country for taking the record of teachers and administrators in schools.
Ministry officials say the imminent deployment of the technology is in response to calls from higher authorities for the putting in place of a system that will help check cases of violations, neglect and fraud among school officials.
