Digital India is such a success, and every department is coming up with unique solutions for the existing bottlenecks. Some of these solutions have set new benchmarks for others. Education is one of the prime departments, as the future of the youth is fully dependent on the standard of education imparted in the classroom. It is a fact that school education is a big department with numerous responsibilities and a burdensome set of problems. It is important to mention that the earlier political class made excess appointments in certain districts, while certain schools in other districts are devoid of full staff strength. The attachments with the directorate office were routine, and the whole system was chaotic beyond comprehension. At distant schools, there used to be a cartel of staff; out of the sanctioned strength assigned, only a few were present by mutual agreement. Students suffered immensely. Information technology solution of biometric and IRIS-based attendance had been applied. But even this system proved ineffective in curbing school absences. Even the biometrics installed served little purpose because employees would come in the morning, have their attendance marked, leave, and then return at office closing time to have it marked again. This has been more prevalent in city-based schools and offices. The Education Department has come up with a unique solution to curb these practices: GPS-based attendance is a simple app-based attendance system that not only tracks attendance but also the teacher’s geographical location. There is no way to cheat the system now; teachers have to be present in the school all the time. The whole set of information is available in real-time to all concerned officers. Teachers can apply for leave online now, and officers can sanction or reject such applications. In a matter of seconds, the entire geometry of the existing system was altered by a single app. The Education Department has not stopped here; a feedback app for teachers’ performance has also been developed. Students from sixth grade onward will be rating their teachers based on set parameters. This will reveal many hidden aspects of teachers. Good performers will be rewarded, and non-performers will be taken care of by the department. No more escape roots for the recalcitrant staff. The LG Administration has no doubt, in one stroke, achieved multiple goals. More heartening is the fact that these apps are being developed by utilising the department’s resources; much appreciation goes to the staff involved in the whole process. Our teaching faculty is highly qualified, and certain Government schools are giving wonderful results year after year. Trite and illusory teaching methods have to be shelved. This is the digital age, and NEP 2020 has focused on holistic teaching methods. Iniquitous practises of faculty absence adopted in illegal ways have to be checked, and offenders must be sifted out of the system. SAMIKSHA is no ordinary rickety application; it is going to stay here as such a blinkered approach will have no takers now.
These two apps are milestone breakthroughs in the educational world, with Jammu and Kashmir being the first to adopt them. There will be some sputtering by disgruntled regular offenders. There is absolutely no place for antagonistic teaching staff. This feedback from the students will be reflected in annual performance reports, like in the private sector performers will be rewarded suitably and underperformers will be clearly siloed. Once again, the Chief Secretary has been leading from the front, and the Administrative Head of the Education Department also deserves accolades. This team effort is all set to transform education.
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