Government aims to ensure no school closures, improve tracking through Aadhaar and student IDs
The Government of Maharashtra is making a determined push to re-integrate out-of-school children into the formal education system and address the issue of declining enrollment, said School Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse in the Legislative Council on July 3.
Responding to a half-hour discussion under Rule 92, Bhuse acknowledged that while data from the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) shows a marginal drop in student numbers, the state is actively working to identify the underlying reasons and take corrective action.
The minister explained that many students divert to ITI or diploma courses after Class 10, but since their school records aren’t updated, they are wrongly classified as dropouts. To address this, the government is conducting a special campaign from July 1 to 15 to trace and reintegrate such students into the mainstream. This will be done through Aadhaar linking and ‘Apar ID’, a unique tracking code for every student. So far, 86% of student data has been compiled, and 95% Aadhaar linking has been completed, Bhuse said.
To improve educational quality, the state has also prioritized:
- Teacher training
- Free textbooks and uniforms
- Mid-day meals
- Sanitized and child-friendly schools
- Clean drinking water and functional toilets
- Basic sports facilities
Over 9,000 highly qualified teachers have already been appointed, with 10,000 more currently in the recruitment pipeline.
Bhuse assured that no school will be shut down and that the government is committed to delivering joyful and quality education to every child. He called on the public and elected representatives to support this mission for inclusive education.
