DocumentationTaking Attendance

Taking Attendance

How the fingerprint attendance system works and how to manage attendance records in DRAIS.

DRAIS is designed around fingerprint-based attendance. Once the biometric device is connected and students are enrolled, attendance is recorded automatically every morning without any teacher involvement. This guide explains how it works and what you can do with the records.

How Fingerprint Attendance Works

The process is simple:

  1. Student arrives at school and places their finger on the biometric scanner.
  2. DRAIS identifies the student in under 2 seconds.
  3. The system records the arrival time automatically.
  4. If the student arrives after the configured late cut-off time, they are marked as Late.
  5. The student's guardian receives an SMS notification confirming arrival.
  6. The attendance dashboard updates in real time.

[ Screenshot: Live Attendance Dashboard ]

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Viewing Today's Attendance

To see the current day's attendance:

  1. Go to Attendance in the main menu.
  2. The dashboard shows a live count of present, late, and absent students.
  3. Scroll down to see the full arrival timeline — a chronological list of every student who has checked in today.
  4. To filter by class, use the Class dropdown at the top.

[ Screenshot: Attendance Page with Class Filter ]

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Viewing a Specific Date

To view attendance for a past date:

  1. Go to Attendance.
  2. Use the date picker at the top to select the date you want to view.
  3. The page will reload with attendance data for that date.

Marking Manual Attendance

If the fingerprint device is unavailable or a student was unable to scan, you can mark attendance manually:

  1. Go to Attendance.
  2. Find the student in the absent list.
  3. Click Mark Present and select their arrival time.
  4. Add a note if needed (e.g., "Device was offline").
Note: Manual attendance entries are marked differently from fingerprint entries so you can distinguish them in reports.

The Late Cut-Off Time

The late cut-off time determines when a student is considered late. For example, if the cut-off is 8:00 AM, any student who checks in at 8:01 AM or later will be marked as Late.

To set or change the cut-off time:

  1. Go to Settings → Attendance Settings.
  2. Set the Morning Cut-off Time.
  3. Click Save.

[ Screenshot: Attendance Settings Page ]

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Parent Notifications

When a student checks in, their guardian automatically receives an SMS like:

DRAIS ALERT: Abdullah Hassan arrived at Al-Noor Academy at 07:42 AM on Monday 10 March. — DRAIS School System

If a student does not check in by a certain time (the absence notification time), the guardian receives:

DRAIS ALERT: Fatima did not arrive at school today (10 March). Please contact the school if you have concerns. — DRAIS
Tip: Make sure guardian phone numbers are correctly entered for each student. Missing phone numbers will cause SMS notifications to fail silently.

Checking Absent Students

To see who has not arrived today:

  1. Go to Attendance.
  2. Use the Status filter and select Absent.
  3. The list shows all students who have not checked in for the selected date.

For attendance reports, see the Generating Reports guide.