Modi government’s 100-day agenda for education: The education ministry‘s 100-day plan aims to assess the true state of the country’s schooling system through its nationwide Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK) network. The goal is to have a VSK centre in every state linked to the national VSK within 100 days, with digital availability of parameters such as student and teachers’ attendance on a real-time basis across all states on a GIS dashboard.
According to an ET report, the new system, one could soon identify the reasons behind poor performance in Mathematics by students in a specific school in Bihar, or consistently low attendance of girl students in schools within a particular block in Maharashtra, or even verify if a mid-day meal was provided to all children in a district in Assam – with just a few clicks on a computer!
The VSK is envisioned as a data warehouse that will eventually connect every single school across the country, from government to private, enabling comprehensive and interactive data analytics to facilitate data-driven policy interventions and customised decision-making in the schooling system.
Efforts are underway to meet the 100-day deadline, with the wheels moving quickly to achieve this ambitious goal.
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The VSK initiative, aimed at monitoring student and teacher attendance in schools across the country, is making significant progress. According to sources, 29 states and Union Territories have either already launched their VSK centres or are in the final stages of doing so. The remaining states are being continuously encouraged to join the initiative by next month.
Recent additions to the VSK network include Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, while Karnataka, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Ladakh, and Lakshadweep are expected to join in the coming month. The education ministry has planned extensive orientation sessions and regional reviews throughout June and July to ensure the August 15 deadline is met.
The VSK network is not limited to attendance data alone. It aims to integrate various layers of information, including school enrolment and dropout rates from the U-DISE database, school accreditation, teacher training, student performance assessments, the National Achievement Survey conducted by NCERT, and the PM-Poshan mid-day meal scheme.
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A critical factor in enhancing the VSK data visualisation model and optimising its scale is the linkage with the 12-digit APAAR ID, also known as the “One Nation, One Student ID.”
This unique identifier will consolidate a student’s academic achievements throughout their entire academic journey. The initiative has received full central support, as it was Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the Gujarat VSK centre that prompted the education ministry to embark on this mission.
During the December 2023 conference of state chief secretaries chaired by the Prime Minister, the implementation of the APAAR ID template in all schools across the country was identified as a key priority, setting the stage for the ambitious VSK initiative.