Vidya Samiksha Kendras, or VSKs, which aim at collecting and collating real-time data on students and teachers across the country, has brought 30 odd States and Union Territories under its network, said Vipin Kumar, Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Education.
The VSK network aims at making available parameters such as student and teachers’ attendance, online, on a real-time basis on a GIS dashboard across all States.
The VSK - with a presence of at least one centre in every State - is viewed as a data warehouse that will eventually connect every single school across the country, from government to private; thereby enabling comprehensive and interactive data analytics to facilitate data-driven policy interventions and customised decision-making in the schooling system.
Tracking learning gap
According to Kumar, the system will allow for mapping, tracking and, if necessary, identifying learning gaps in students even if they move across States.
It will also help in identifying reasons behind poor performance by students in a specific school or region, look into consistent low attendance of girl students in schools of a particular block, and even verify if a mid-day meal was provided to all school-going children in a district.
“Every student has a unique ID like Aadhar. And, their progress is tracked. So, even if they move around and shift from one State to another, teachers will be able to view and track his strengths and weaknesses, his learning progress, etc,” Kumar said, while speaking at the Deloitte India’s Government Summit.
“The VSKs include students from both government and private schools,” he added. Some of the States already onboard include Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, among others.