Latest news with #VSK
Hindustan Times
13-07-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Chandigarh to include private schools' data in Vidya Samiksha Kendra
The UT education department has written to private schools of the city to integrate data of the schools in the Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK) run by the department. Chandigarh's VSK is connected to the Rashtriya Vidya Samiksha Kendra (RVSK) at CIET-NCERT, New Delhi. (HT photo for representation) Presently, only government school data is being analysed through this platform. Onboarding of all private schools (with valid UDISE+ codes) onto the VSK platform will ensure holistic utilisation of VSK's benefits for all categories of schools and for all stakeholders. Chandigarh's VSK is connected to the Rashtriya Vidya Samiksha Kendra (RVSK) at CIET-NCERT, New Delhi. The VSK, installed in the Sector-9 school education department office, connects systemic data and aims to bring visibility to real time educational datasets. It also enables data driven decisions for both administrative and academic educational stakeholders and is mandated for all states and UTs by the centre. The data of Parakh Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 which was recently released for UT schools when hosted on VSK will support the development of inclusive, data-driven educational policies and targeted interventions. This will work for areas such as attendance, assessment, administration and accreditation. Speaking about the initiative, UT director of school education Harsuhinderpal Singh Brar said that the department aims to gather data that accurately reflects the quality and effectiveness of UT's education system while giving insight into where policy interventions and resource allocations are most needed. 'This will allow the department to identify specific areas for targeted improvement, whether it is in curriculum design, teaching practices/training, or learning environments, ensuring every child has equitable access to quality education,' he added. Brar hopes that the process will be carried out within this academic session. UT writes to centre on mandatory biometric Aadhar update of children After the UID Implementation Committee (UIDIC) had directed to give priority to the mandatory biometric update of the children who have attained the age of 5 and 15, the UT director of school education has written to Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) that the UT has adopted the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) developed by NIC, New Delhi and has been implemented in all states/UTs wherein the child-wise data is being collected along with Aadhaar number. When the Aadhaar number of the student/teacher is entered on this UDISE+ portal and checked for validation from UIDAI Portal, it reflects whether the Aadhar entry is validated or not. Brar said that the current UDISE+ portal software returns a report of only the Aadhaar number being verified but does not confirm whether the Aadhar mandatory biometric has been updated for that number or not. He proposed that UIDAI may consider a software update giving an option on the UDISE+ portal to reflect whether the biometric has been updated or not. The centre has accepted this proposal and has begun integrating this in their software.
Time of India
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Will replicate Guj's success stories: Delhi edu minister
Gandhinagar: Ashish Sood, Delhi minister for home, power, urban development, and education, said that the BJP-led Delhi state govt will adopt and replicate success stories of Gujarat's education system. He was speaking on Sunday, a day after his visit to Surat on Saturday. In Surat in connection with an urban development project, he also visited a municipal school where education is imparted using digital platforms. "Delhi should have been a model for the country in education, but when the BJP took over, there were just about 700 or 800 smart classrooms in govt schools in the national capital. We intend to roll out 7,000 smart classrooms in the coming months," the minister said on Sunday. Commenting on Gujarat's Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK), a centralised project to monitor learning outcomes in govt schools, Sood said, "We will definitely adopt the concept of the VSK and implement it in Delhi with better ideas." tnn You Can Also Check: Ahmedabad AQI | Weather in Ahmedabad | Bank Holidays in Ahmedabad | Public Holidays in Ahmedabad
Indian Express
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Kanya Kelavani-Shala Praveshotsav: Getting potential drop-outs back to school— has Gujarat aced the test with its enrolment drive?
At a government-run school in Maninagar, Minister of State for Co-operation, Jagdish Vishwakarma, is leading the Kanya Kelavani-Shala Praveshotsav, a three-day statewide school enrolment drive. Students of Classes 9-12 took part in a quiz where they were asked: 'Fifty years back, an incident happened that was taken note of by the world, what was that?' 'Bandharan Hatya Divas' (Constitution Assassination Day)', a girl studying in Class 10 at Sri Ramkrishna Vidyalaya answered after two-three attempts by others. She got a silver idol of Lord Rama as a reward. The annual drive, which kicked off on Thursday, sees the chief minister, ministers, state and district officials travelling to urban and rural areas to encourage parents to enrol their children in schools. On Friday, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel was at a government primary school in Gandhinagar's Pundrasan village, where he urged parents to ensure enrolment of their children in schools and avail the benefits of government schemes. When the drive started, Gujarat would record a nearly 40% drop-out rate in Classes 1-7. Launched by the then CM Narendra Modi, now the Prime Minister, in 2003-04, where his team of ministers and bureaucrats would lead enrolment drives in Class 1, the state's flagship initiative has over the years incorporated a technology-driven tracking of children by assigning them a unique identity through the Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK). This year, it is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to 'predict' drop-outs so that there could be specific interventions. The objective of the drive is to ensure no child, who is eligible to go to school, is left out. The focus this year has gradually shifted from primary to secondary and higher secondary schools. However, the disproportionate number of secondary and higher schools available for children from the economically weaker sections becomes a deterrent. For instance, against the 32,000 primary schools run by the government or municipal bodies, there are just 6,100 government-run or grant-in-aid schools for secondary and higher secondary sections. 'The focus this year is enrolment in Classes 9 and 10. Among the three government schools to be visited by officials on each day of the drive, two are secondary and higher secondary schools and one is primary,' Principal Secretary, Education, Mukesh Kumar, told The Indian Express. As per the Education department records, the drop-out rate of Classes 9 and 10 was 21 per cent in 2023-24 against 23.8 per cent in 2018-19 — a decline of only 2.8 per cent in five years. The reasons range from availability of schools in the neighbourhood, especially in case of girls; parents migrating for work to other districts to children aiding the family income by engaging in skill-based labour. 'After this success (decline in drop out rate in primary classes and increase in enrollment), it was also very necessary to reduce the drop-out rate in Classes 8 and 9. That is why the state government is intensively mapping all students of Class 8 for them to get admission in Class 9 and Class 10 for Class 11 admission through the VSK. Efforts are being made to get all such students admitted in the nearest government or aided secondary schools,' the state government said in a statement issued this week. The state government has set a target of getting 25.75 lakh students enrolled for the 2025-26 academic session. Of these, most (10.56 lakh) are eligible for admission in Class 9, 6.5 lakh for admission to Classes 10 and 11, and 8.75 lakh for admission in Class 1 and Balvatika (equivalent to nursery). Further, the Gujarat State Open School, an initiative to facilitate distance learning for secondary and higher secondary students, was revived this year and rules are being made 'student-friendly', government sources say. Children who dropped out after Class 8 are also being sought out and enrolled in Gujarat State Open School Board. Details of students enrolled in the Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) are also being integrated with VSK for tracking. As per the state government records reiterated at every education programme and attributed as the 'success' of Shala Praveshotsav, the drop-out rate in Classes 1 to 5 has declined from 20.93 per cent in 2001-02 to 1.07 per cent in 2023-24. Also, the drop-out rate in Classes 1 to 8 was 37.22 per cent in 2001-02, which came down to 2.42 per cent in 2023-24. However, as per the AI-enabled Early Warning System (EWS) data accessed by The Indian Express, the potential dropouts identified for Classes 1-8 for the current academic year is 1.67 lakh from 50.42 lakh — of which 55 per cent are likely to be girl students. In its initial year, the data has been generated for Classes 1 to 8 which will be analysed and replicated for secondary and higher secondary classes, said government sources. As a statewide EWS predictive data of possible drop-outs has been generated for the first time this year, Banaskantha has the highest number at nearly 18,000 students, including a higher percentage for girls — at 60%. With over 15,300 students, Kutch is also among the top districts with the highest number of students who are likely to drop out of school, followed by the tribal district of Dahod and Surat city with nearly 12,000 students each. Ahmedabad city stands at 7,200, Jamnagar has over 6,700, Surendranagar at nearly 6,400, Rajkot with over 5,600, Morbi at over 5,500, Bhavnagar at over 5,600 and Chhota Udepur has nearly 5,200 such students. This was based on data sets recorded by the VSK on parameters like students' attendance, academic performance, behaviour patterns, economic background, migration, parents' mindset, number of children in the family, population, etc. Based on the AI-generated algorithm, such children are being monitored and before they drop-out, schools are informed so that authorities can take preventive actions. 'A sensible use of this data will help not only improve learning levels among children, but also their comprehensive growth. The VSK, which was started in Gujarat, has already been replicated in 17-18 states and funded by the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyaan,' Kumar told this paper. Experts and activists, however, question the lack of transparency in government records. Raising concerns, Sukhdev Patel an education activist from Ahmedabad, told this paper, 'The exercise of Shala Praveshotsav seems like drawing a target around the arrow after it was shot. The enrolment data should be made public and the manner in which it has been arrived at.' At the Pundrasan Government Primary school, CM Patel enrolled 197 children. He also appealed to the members of the School Management Committee to get more actively involved in the functioning of their respective schools. The SMCs were instituted in non-granted schools, as mandated by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act (RTE), aimed at ensuring community participation in the governance and monitoring of elementary education. However, after it was revealed that a majority of such committees lie either only on paper or are defunct, the Gujarat government directed restructuring these decision-making bodies at government primary schools. As per a Gujarat government notification from 2011, in a 12-member SMC, 75% members should comprise parents of students, with weightage to be given to the economically weaker sections. Among the rest of the members, one should be from the elected wing , one teacher, one person nominated by the parents. One of the objectives of the committee is to seek out eligible children and enrol them in schools from the villages and the neighbourhood. On the reconstitution of SMCs, Principal Secretary Kumar said, 'Till the time we don't nudge them, how will they improve?' The first-ever restructuring of the SMCs across 32,800 government primary schools, since these were formed following the implementation of the Act in Gujarat, was followed by a virtual interaction between Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and the members of the SMC in April this year. To identify eligible children to be admitted in Class 1, data from the Health department from 2019 was integrated with the Education department's Child Tracking System (CTS). Further, birth record data from 2023-24 is also used for enrolling children in Balvatika. The TeCHO (Technology for Community Health Operations) app used to track vaccination of children has also been integrated with the CTS application to create pre-enrollment data. These details are then shared along with contact details of parents to the respective schools. VSK is also collecting details of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and of private pre-primary schools from 2023-24. This is used to identify children to be admitted in Balvatika and Class 1 and a list is prepared to ensure 100 per cent enrolment. From 2025-26, to ensure students are enrolled in their nearest government or grant-in-aid schools, primary school principals and CRC co-ordinators will be roped in. The Socio-Economic Review (SER) 2023-24 revealed that the number of primary schools declined by 1,027 in the last five years — from 45,315 (including private schools) in 2019-20 to 44,288 in 2023-24. This reflected in the decline of 7.67 lakh in enrolment in Classes 1 to 8 in primary schools — from 86.14 lakh to 78.47 lakh. While government primary schools in rural areas reportedly increased from 2,225 in 2019-20 to 2,310 in 2023-24, government or municipal bodies run schools in urban areas either closed or merged as they declined from 31,337 to 30,626 during this period. On the other hand, the number of secondary and higher secondary schools increased during the same period, from 12,445 to 13,037, including around 6,100 run by government or grant-in-aid schools. This, however, resulted in a decline in the total enrolment — from 28.67 lakh in 2019-20 to 27.41 lakh in 2023-24. While the total number of secondary and higher secondary schools increased, the number of only-girls secondary and higher secondary schools decreased from 594 to 576 in the last five years. Meanwhile, the drop-out rate in primary education in Gujarat from Class 1 to 5, which stood at 22.3 per cent in 1999-2000, was reduced to 1.04 per cent in 2022-23.
Indian Express
11-06-2025
- Indian Express
Gujarat to launch AI-based system to cut dropout rate in schools
With Gujarat being among the states with the highest dropout rate in secondary education, the state government has devised an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based Early Warning System (EWS) to curb dropouts. To be launched across the state during Shala Praveshotsav and Kanya Kelavani, a three-day school enrolment drive to be kicked off on June 26, the EWS will provide information and send out alerts on potential dropouts in Classes 8 and 9. Already piloted in a few schools during the 2024-25 academic session, the EWS uses students' data maintained at the Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK). Each student enroled in government-run and aided schools has a unique identification number, which is stored and tracked by the VSK. 'The Early Warning System aims at identifying students at risk of dropping out of school at the secondary level, based on identification of key indicators. Once 'at-risk' children are identified, they will be provided support through preventive response strategies and interventions to meet their specific needs. Continuous monitoring and tracking will be done at the school, cluster, district and state level to retain children in schools,' an Education department official told The Indian Express. All government and aided schools in Gujarat are equipped with Child Tracking System (CTS). Based on algorithm, factors considered to ascertain possible dropouts include absenteeism, child's behaviour, academic performance and other factors like migration, socio-economic background along with demographic information. Data on potential dropouts will be shared with every school during the enrolment drive in the state. To prevent children from dropping out, the School Management Committees (SMCs) and School Management Development Committees (SMDCs) will also seek the local community's help to interact with the children and their parents, as alerted by the EWS. The list of potential dropouts will also be shared with the coordinators of block resource centres (BRCs) and cluster resource centre (CRCs), school principals as well as teachers and the school management committee (SMC) to ensure these students are provided all the necessary assistance. Officials at the education department also said that schools will be directed to involve children's parents in the admission process to make them understand the importance of school education for the development and progress of the child. The school administration will also have to ensure that children attend school regularly. Under behavioural issues, disruptive classroom behaviour, conflicts with peers or teachers, increased aggression, or withdrawal from social activities have been listed. As per the Department of School Education and Literacy's UDISE dashboard for 2023-24, the retention rate in secondary schools in Gujarat was 44.3 per cent. The Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) at the secondary and higher secondary levels is 58.7 per cent, whereas the dropout rate at these levels is 16.7 per cent. Gujarat is ranked with states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, which have a GER of 50.1-60 per cent in secondary classes. Shala Praveshotsav was launched by the Gujarat government in 2003 to promote school enrolment and keep drop-out rate in check. As part of the initiative, ministers, bureaucrats and police officers visit schools in teams to enrol students. The government has set a target of getting 25.75 students enroled for the 2025-26 academic session. Of them, 10.5 lakh are eligible for admission in Class IX, 6.5 lakh students for admission to Classes 10 and 11, and 8.75 lakh for admission in Balvatika. The Shala Praveshotsav and Kanya Kelavani this year will target secondary and higher secondary schools. Out of a total of three schools to be visited by each official on each of the three days of the exercise, one should be primary and two secondary and higher secondary schools.
Time of India
04-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Public Administration, reimagined: The promise of government analytics
Rahul is an officer of the Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers. He completed his (Electrical Engg.) from NIT Bhopal in 2008 and is also a certified Energy Auditor from BEE. Currently, he is working as Deputy Secretary in the Dept of School Education & Literacy in the Ministry of Education, New Delhi. He has won the National Award for Outstanding Service from Ministry in 2016 and Railway Board Award for Best Suggestion Scheme in 2019. He is inclined towards dramatics, enjoys movies, books, music, singing, comparing, cultural activities, running etc. LESS ... MORE As I reflect on my recent completion of the World Bank's Government Analytics course, I'm struck by the immense potential these tools hold for revolutionising governance in India. Today, while data-driven decision-making has improved productivity in the private sector, many governments still have a wealth of data but struggle to turn it into valuable insights. This gap presents both challenges and new opportunities for those working in public administration. The promise of government analytics in modern governance The digital transformation of government operations has accelerated dramatically in recent years. Financial management, procurement, taxation, and service delivery have increasingly moved online, generating vast repositories of administrative data. Yet, as the World Bank's Government Analytics Handbook highlights, this data often remains trapped in silos, used primarily for record-keeping rather than informing strategic decisions[1]. The result is a missed opportunity to enhance expenditure effectiveness, improve service delivery, and ultimately increase public trust in government. From my experience in government, I see significant potential in the administrative data collected daily covering school attendance, teacher deployment, infrastructure, and student outcomes. While this information has often been used mainly for record-keeping, it now presents a valuable opportunity to uncover patterns, address bottlenecks, and identify areas for improvement. A key initiative in this direction is the Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK), established by the Government of India at both national and state/UT levels. VSK serves as a centralised hub that aggregates and analyses educational data from millions of schools, teachers, and students across the country, integrating sources like UDISE+, student and teacher databases, and learning outcome assessments. Using advanced analytics, machine learning, and real-time dashboards, VSK enables administrators to monitor crucial indicators such as student attendance, enrollment, learning progress, and teacher effectiveness. This empowers education officials to make timely, data-driven decisions, for example, identifying students at risk of dropping out or rationalising teacher deployment to address shortages in single-teacher or under-resourced schools. By breaking down data silos and providing actionable insights, VSK strengthens accountability, improves resource allocation, and supports the overall goal of enhancing learning outcomes nationwide. Key insights from the government analytics handbook and fellowship The Government Analytics Handbook serves as a comprehensive guide to leveraging data for strengthening public administration. What distinguishes this resource is its practical approach to transforming existing administrative data into actionable insights. The Handbook emphasises that governments don't necessarily need to collect new data – instead, they can gain tremendous value by repurposing the information they already possess. During the Government Analytics course, I was particularly impressed by the case studies demonstrating concrete results. For instance, Chile's Ministry of Health saved hundreds of millions of dollars by using administrative data to reduce missed medical appointments among patients with chronic conditions. Similarly, Guatemala's Ministry of Education reduced the dropout rate for students entering lower secondary school by 9% through data-driven identification of at-risk students. Practical applications in Public Administration For India, government analytics presents transformative possibilities. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, data-driven organisations are 23 times more likely to acquire customers, six times more likely to retain customers, and 19 times more likely to be profitable. These principles apply equally to government operations, where improved analytics can enhance service delivery and policy outcomes. The Government Analytics Handbook outlines several foundational elements that are particularly relevant for Indian public administration: Repurposing administrative data : Rather than creating new data collection systems, we can extract valuable insights from existing financial management systems, HR databases, and service delivery records . Measuring what matters : The Handbook emphasises the importance of a balanced data suite that prioritises problem-solving and learning, not just compliance . Ethical considerations : Government analytics must respect privacy concerns and moral boundaries, especially when analysing data related to public servants or vulnerable populations . Implementation focus : Analytics should inform action, not simply produce reports. The goal is to enhance decision-making and drive measurable improvements in government performance . Applying government analytics to school education sector research in India My immediate interest lies in applying government analytics principles to research on setting up a school complex in India as envisioned in National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The policy marks a significant shift in India's approach to school organisation by advocating for the creation of school complexes rather than traditional school consolidation or closure. While school closure permanently shuts down institutions and consolidation merges multiple schools, often leading to community disruption, the school complex model is fundamentally different. It groups nearby schools, including Anganwadis and all levels from pre-primary to secondary, into a collaborative unit that shares resources, staff, and infrastructure, while allowing each school to retain its identity and location. This approach is designed to address the chronic challenges of small, under-resourced schools, such as the prevalence of single-teacher institutions and zero-enrolment schools, without sacrificing access or local engagement. According to the latest Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) data, India is home to 1,10,971 single-teacher schools, showcasing the dedication of educators in reaching even the most remote areas. Additionally, 12,964 schools, despite currently having zero enrolment, employ over 31,000 teachers, reflecting the nation's commitment to providing educational infrastructure. More than half of all schools (56.7%) cater to fewer than 100 students, and nearly 68,000 schools serve fewer than 10 students, emphasising the potential for personalised learning experiences. These figures illuminate immense opportunities to further enhance education accessibility and optimise resources for a brighter future. With targeted initiatives and innovative models like school complexes, there is great potential to optimise resources, enhance collaboration, and ensure that every child has access to quality education. This data provides a strong foundation for designing solutions that can strengthen the education system and better serve students and teachers across the country. The school complex model, as outlined in NEP 2020, directly addresses these issues by enabling the pooling of teachers-ensuring subject-specific instruction and reducing the burden on single teachers-and by optimising the use of infrastructure such as libraries, laboratories, and sports facilities across the complex. This not only helps in achieving economies of scale but also ensures equitable access to quality resources for all students, regardless of the size or location of their school. Moreover, school complexes are envisioned as decentralised, semi-autonomous units with their management committees, fostering innovation, local governance, and community participation. This structure enhances administrative efficiency and allows for tailored interventions that reflect local needs and contexts. By focusing on collaboration and resource sharing rather than closure or consolidation, the school complex model supports both efficiency and equity, aligning with NEP's vision of universal access to quality education and robust, inclusive governance. Looking forward: Building a government analytics ecosystem in India With the advent of artificial intelligence, the landscape of government analytics is poised to evolve even further. AI-powered tools can uncover deeper insights from vast datasets, enable predictive modelling at scale, and support more personalised, real-time decision-making in public administration. As we enter this new era, policymakers and administrators need to build their capacity to harness AI responsibly and effectively. Looking ahead, future iterations of the government analytics course could incorporate modules and success stories on the integration of AI in public sector analytics, ensuring that India's public administration remains at the forefront of innovation and positive change. Government analytics represents not just a set of technical tools, but a transformative approach to governance that leverages our existing data resources to create more effective, efficient, and responsive public administration. As Francis Fukuyama noted about the Government Analytics Handbook, this approach offers 'granular and real insights into how states work'. For India's education sector and beyond, these insights could be the key to unlocking our next wave of governance innovation. References Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
