Under the National Digital Education Architecture (NDEAR), the Ministry of Education is spearheading the establishment of Vidya Samiksha Kendras (VSKs) across Indian states.
What are Vidya Samiksha Kendras (VSKs)?
- VSKs are information storage facilities created to compile data from numerous educational initiatives and programs managed by the Ministry of Education.
- These repositories seek to improve decision-making in the field of education by streamlining data administration, fostering data analysis, and doing so.
Key Components of VSKs:
1. Comprehensive Data: VSKs will aggregate data from diverse educational programs, including PM-POSHAN mid-day meal programs, Teacher training records from the National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement portal, Textbook content from Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing
- School dropout and attendance data via Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE+)
- Students’ learning outcomes from National Achievement Survey
- Performance Grading Index evaluating state-level school education systems.
2. Centers at the national and state levels: At the national level, VSK operations are situated on the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) campus in the Central Institute of Educational Technology building. These operations are managed by the international IT firm Ernst and Young.
3. Advisory Role: Nandan Nilekani, a former chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), co-founded the non-profit organization EkStep, which offers guidance on the implementation of the VSK project.
4. Data entry is currently done manually and is accessible for download in Excel format. However, there are plans to automate data entry through the integration of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). This change will allow for smooth data integration and communication between various systems at the federal, state, and local levels.
State-Level Initiatives
- Each state has received funding from the federal government ranging from Rs 2 to Rs 5 crore for the establishment of VSKs. These grants cover both human resources and pre-configured open-source gear and software.
- States Taking Action: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Jharkhand are among the states that have already started setting up these technological platforms.
Benefits of VSKs:
- Data Analysis and Correlation: The main goal of VSKs is to make correlation possible for data analytics. VSKs work to integrate diverse data points with large amounts of data from numerous educational programs in order to generate valuable conclusions.
Example Scenarios:
- Attendance Patterns: Analyzing attendance data alongside student dropout rates to identify potential correlations.
- Mid-Day Meals Impact: Investigating whether consistent mid-day meal provision in certain regions leads to increased school attendance.
- Student Improvement Tracking: Monitoring students’ progress over time using data from weekly tests to tailor educational support.
Maps showing schools’ locations will be made possible by VSKs using demographic data to calculate the Gross Access Ratio. This knowledge can aid in the planning of higher education based on demand and future projections, support industrial clusters in determining skilling needs, and influence the creation of new schools.
