Bhopal: Call it cloud computing of a different kind. One that requires teachers to go up on school terraces or, worse, even shin up trees in a desperate quest for signal bars that would enable them to mark their attendance on their mobile phones.Indeed, marking mandatory e-attendance for govt schoolteachers in the interiors of the Madhya Pradesh now demands athleticism of a sportsperson while carrying the risk of physical harm. Faced with patchy or non-existent mobile networks, teachers of govt schools in the state’s remote corners either have to run up stairs to the terrace or perch themselves on tree branches to catch the mobile tower signal in a bid to log into the ‘Hamare Shikshak’ app, a routine they follow to not just to mark attendance electronically but also ensure transparency and accountability in govt schools.“I never imagined that my lesson plan would include a roof check,” said a teacher from Chhatarpur, speaking on condition of anonymity.Videos of teachers balancing a smartphone while perched precariously on rooftop tiles or clutching at limbs of mango trees to catch phone signals — have gone viral on social media, evoking sympathy, concern and incredulous laughter in equal measure from netizens.One such clip from a govt school at Agar-Malwa in Barod district, shows a Maths teacher marking attendance mid-air, with some saying in the comments section that he was, perhaps, solving for ‘x’ before his signal went out.Amid mounting concern over everyday signalling issues, the Education department defended the digital attendance rule saying it reduces ghost-staffing while ensuring accountability. “The system is clear: attendance through the app,” said an official, adding, “We have introduced grace time and CAPTCHA checks to tackle server overload and technical glitches.”However, these fixes are of little help for teachers at schools where the signal bars refuse to appear even on the highest rooftops or tree branches.Teachers reported a persistent anxiety: miss the online window, and face delay in salary or administrative action. The fear of action, more than a curiosity to indulge their athletic side, has been driving them to improvise. “If you see us on the rooftop, we’re not admiring the view,” a primary school teacher quipped, adding, “We’re trying to secure our pay cheque — and possibly a Wi‑Fi cloud.”“We wish the govt would understand our practical problems and give us a permanent solution. We are neither against the govt nor the idea of e-attendance. But there is a need to fix the drawbacks. Teachers posted in remote govt schools are suffering the most,” teachers’ union secretary Upendra Kaushal told TOI.Local education unions said the blighted e-attendance puts ‘digital reach’ in a direct conflict with ‘rural reality’, rather than being an enabler, urging the govt to build necessary infrastructure to support their mandates.Their list of suggestions to the govt includes offline attendance options, periodic on-site verification and simple signal boosters for remote schools. Technology advocates, too, weighed in, saying digitisation must be matched by mobile coverage and reliable electricity, failing which schoolteachers end up being reluctant acrobats rather than educators.Meanwhile, villagers have started timing their chores around the teachers’ rooftop rituals. One neighbour joked that morning walks now include a ‘teacher-spotting’ segment. The viral reel, while amusing netizens, held up the mirror for the authorities, pointing to a gap between a policy designed to bring transparency to teaching and the stubborn problem of network connectivity and signal outage.