Assam Education Minister, Ranoj Pegu, has declared the mandatory use of the Shiksha Setu portal, effective from October 3. This portal is designed to streamline the education system and enhance transparency in monitoring teacher attendance.
Pegu emphasized the importance of uploading teacher attendance information onto the Education Setu portal and warned of investigative actions against those failing to comply.
Currently, the portal lists 44,735 registered schools in the state, with a total of 2,35,387 teachers and staff. Of these, 2,13,685 names have already been registered on the portal.
Furthermore, the portal also serves as a database for student information, with 46,07,558 students registered out of a total of 47,96,980. Pegu highlighted that this portal would be a valuable tool for effectively monitoring student attendance.
To facilitate the portal's implementation, each school has been provided with tablets boasting 4GB RAM, and extra tablets have been allocated to schools with larger student populations.
Pegu clarified that the objective is not punitive measures against individuals but rather to enhance school management. He confirmed that there are no discrepancies in the app or server and that software will automatically track teacher attendance once a photo is uploaded onto the app.
Pegu acknowledged that Nagaon and Hailakandi are two districts facing particular educational challenges but expressed optimism about increased enrollment in government schools in the upcoming year.
However, the Shiksha Setu portal has uncovered poor and inconsistent student attendance in government and provincialized schools across Assam. According to the portal, the state is home to 48,42,383 students, with 94 percent (45,63,854 students) attending 44,507 schools.
Troubling discrepancies in student attendance are evident across different districts. While Karbi Anglong, Udalguri, Barpeta, Baksa, Sivasagar, Morigaon, Dima Hasao, Cachar, Karimganj, Charaideo, South Salmara-Mankachar, Tinsukia, Udalguri, and West Karbi Anglong consistently report below-average attendance rates, districts such as Nalbari, Bongaigaon, Dhemaji, Darrang, Nagaon, Biswanath, and Dibrugarh show more promising student attendance figures. Even Kamrup (M) and Kamrup districts face challenges related to student attendance.
The portal's data reveals that student attendance was as low as 48 percent on September 20, gradually rising to 51 percent on September 21 and 56 percent on September 22. The figures improved slightly with 62.1 percent attendance recorded on September 28. Nonetheless, this still leaves over one-third of students absent from school.
Interestingly, districts performing well in the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) and Higher Secondary (HS) examinations tend to have better student attendance. Addressing the state's persistently high dropout rate is essential to improving educational outcomes and reducing absenteeism in Assam.
