The Department of School Education, Nagaland, has issued a notification urging all employees under the department to strictly use the Smart Attendance Management & Informative Leaves (SMILE) application, also known as the Teacher Attendance Monitoring System (TAMS), for daily attendance marking. The directive comes in light of recent observations highlighting poor compliance, despite the mandatory implementation of the app since February 1, 2025.
SMILE is a key component of the NECTAR project, implemented by the Department with support from the World Bank. Described by the Department as a “pioneering initiative,” SMILE integrates facial authentication technology with geo-fencing to ensure that attendance is marked within designated school or official premises. The system aims to improve accountability, transparency, and accuracy in employee attendance across the state.
To support this digital transition, the Department has distributed tablet devices to all government schools and education establishments at the block, sub-division, and district headquarters. These serve as dedicated attendance kiosks. The app is also available for download on Android and iOS smartphones.
Importantly, the SMILE app includes an offline attendance feature—a critical addition for schools in network-deficient areas. “The app can store offline data for up to 30 days, which gets synchronized automatically upon network availability,” the Department noted. An attendance regularisation feature is also available to allow users to request corrections for missed entries due to technical errors or official duties.
While the initiative is seen as a forward step in modernising administrative systems, the initial rollout was marred by technical difficulties. The Department acknowledged that in the first few weeks after the launch, users experienced “poor application performance, high dependence on internet connectivity, and long loading times due to heavy server traffic.” These issues often forced users to make multiple attempts to log their attendance, resulting in a low success rate.
However, the Department clarified that the development team has since “actively addressed the issues by continually optimising the application to enhance user experience and reliability.” While acknowledging that minor glitches may persist—as with any IT-enabled platform—the Department encouraged users to not be discouraged.
Despite the improvements, data as of July 1, 2025, presents a mixed picture of user compliance. Out of 2,002 schools and establishments, only 132 schools and 5 establishments have recorded attendance above 80%. Worryingly, 27 schools have not marked any attendance, and 1,525 teachers and employees have failed to mark attendance even once from February 1 to June 30.
Additionally, 1,071 institutions reported attendance levels below 50%.
The Department also reported “many employees have attempted to mark their attendance using methods that fall under the ‘suspicious’ category.”
In light of these findings, the Department has warned that attendance is being closely monitored, and action will be initiated against defaulting employees and schools. Heads of institutions have been directed to ensure that staff comply with the guidelines. For areas without internet access, SMILE app coordinators must take the kiosk tablet to a networked location at least once every 30 days to ensure data synchronization.
Users facing difficulties have been advised to contact the SMILE helpline numbers: 8974102488 / 6909644519.