A day-long programme to train teachers, resource persons and others from government, aided and private nursery schools of Kancheepuram district on data entry of details collected to prepare smart identity cards for school students under Education Management Information System was held at Tambaram recently.
This is part of a State-wide project of the government and over six lakh cards are being prepared in Kancheepuram district alone. Officials of the School Education Department of the district said the EMIS was an ambitious project of the State Government, a portal that aimed at creating an extensive, complete database of all details of schools, students and teachers.
Tab on dropouts
This will make it easier for the government to keep a much closed tab on dropouts and other factors relating to school education and the progress of students.
Officials said that at the school level, complete details of the students are recorded in a 30-point ‘student data capture’ sheet. The details include the date of birth, religion, community and sub-caste, mother tongue, details of parents – their occupation, income levels, disability if any, if they belonged to any disadvantaged group – orphan, HIV-affected, transgender and if the child’s parents were scavengers.
Other details include the student’s blood group, contact number and details of the child’s siblings among others.
Once these details are recorded at the school, they are then loaded on the database, for which the procedure was taught to the teachers on Saturday last at Baby High School, Tambaram.
Officials said similar training programmes for teachers of upper primary, high and higher secondary sections are also being conducted simultaneously.
Once the training is completed, the process of integrating or uploading the details on the online server will commence and in a matter of weeks, the smart cards will be prepared and distribution to students begin, the officials added. According to them, the details punched into the smart cards will make it easier for students seeking a transfer from one institution to another and avoid hassles associated with applying for documents and producing them in the new schools.
As the students’ details will be available online, every institution can check them in their premises without having to spend time, browsing through documents and records.
In Kancheepuram district, there are over two lakh students in high and higher secondary sections and the rest in other classes, including those close to one lakh in nursery, the officials added. Similar training programme for students at other levels – upper primary, high school and higher secondary has been completed.
The State government has already started distributing the cards to students in those districts where the programme has been completed.
Before the end of the current academic year, the State-wide programme will come to a close and all students are expected to receive their smart identity cards.
