Doha, Qatar: Coinciding with the start of the 2026-2027 academic year, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education has begun implementing the "Hodori" system in all government schools and school buses.
The Ministry stated that the system aims to improve student attendance and departure tracking, enhance monitoring accuracy, and promote school discipline through a digital platform that uses palm recognition technology.
The rollout follows a successful pilot phase conducted in six government schools across various grade levels, involving approximately 5,000 students.
The Ministry affirmed that the pilot demonstrated the system’s effectiveness and the readiness of government schools for wider implementation. It contributed to improving attendance and absence tracking, enhancing the accuracy and speed of data recording, and strengthening school discipline, paving the way for its full implementation at the start of the new academic year.
The "Hodori" system uses palm recognition technology to securely and quickly record student attendance and departure without physical contact. Students simply bring their palms close to the device, which recognizes them and records their data.
The Ministry also stated that it has completed all necessary technical and operational preparations for implementing the system, and that the devices have been distributed to government schools and school buses to ensure ease of use and smooth registration processes.
Regarding the application mechanism, the Ministry said that the system’s use varies depending on the student’s mode of transportation. Students using private transportation register twice daily through the devices available at the school: once upon arrival in the morning and again upon dismissal.
Students using school buses are registered at four stages during their daily journey: upon boarding the bus in the morning; upon arrival at school and disembarking; upon dismissal and boarding the bus for the return trip; and finally, upon arrival at their destination and before disembarking.
Registration upon arrival at school serves as proof of attendance, while registration upon boarding the bus after school serves as proof of dismissal. This enhances the accuracy of tracking students’ journeys to and from school and supports safety and security procedures throughout the trip.
The Ministry emphasized that the "Hodori" application is part of its efforts to promote digital transformation and utilise modern technologies to develop the school environment. It added that the system also contributes to improving the efficiency of monitoring student attendance and dismissal, reducing the administrative burden on school supervisors, and providing accurate and up-to-date data to support monitoring and communication with parents.
