Tracking Out of School Children with E-ShikshaKosh
Tracking Out of School Children with E-Shikshakosh is a fundamental right and a key driver of social and economic progress. Yet, in many parts of India, thousands of children remain out of school due to poverty, migration, disability, or lack of access to educational facilities. Ensuring that every child attends school is one of the biggest challenges in achieving inclusive and equitable education.
To address this issue, the Government of Bihar has launched E-ShikshaKosh, a comprehensive Education Management Information System (EMIS) that digitizes the entire educational ecosystem. One of its most impactful roles is tracking out-of-school children (OOSC) in real-time and helping the state bring them back into the mainstream education system.
E-ShikshaKosh is Bihar’s centralized digital platform
Features and Functions of Bihars E ShikshaKosh Education centralized digital platform that collects and manages data from more than 70,000 schools and educational institutions across the state. It tracks critical details such as student enrollment, attendance, teacher deployment, infrastructure status, and academic performance.
By integrating these datasets, the portal enables the government to identify gaps in education coverage and track children who are not enrolled or have dropped out of school.
E-ShikshaKosh Tracks Outof School Children
Unique Student Identification System
Every student enrolled in a Bihar school is assigned a unique ID in the E-ShikshaKosh database. This ID allows the system to track a student’s academic journey, attendance, and migration across schools or districts.
Data Integration from Multiple Sources
E-ShikshaKosh connects data from schools, block offices, district education departments, and welfare schemes such as scholarships and mid-day meals.
This integration helps in cross-verifying information, ensuring no child is missed due to data duplication or clerical errors.
Early Warning System
The portal includes features that act as early alerts for potential dropouts. If a student’s attendance drops below a certain threshold, school administrators are notified. This allows for timely intervention — such as home visits or counseling sessions — before the child permanently leaves school.
GIS-Based School Mapping
Through Geographic Information System (GIS) integration, E-ShikshaKosh helps locate schools and communities with high numbers of out-of-school children.
This data enables the government to plan new schools or mobile classrooms in underserved areas, ensuring better access to education.
Benefits of Using E-ShikshaKosh for Inclusive Education
Accurate Identification: Reduces errors in data collection and ensures that every out-of-school child is accounted for.
Faster Response: Enables quick follow-up by local education officers and teachers.
Informed Decision-Making: Provides policymakers with reliable data for planning interventions.
Transparency: Reduces duplication and manipulation of student records.
E-ShikshaKosh and the Goal of Inclusive Education
Inclusive education ensures that every child, regardless of background or ability, has access to quality learning opportunities. E-ShikshaKosh plays a crucial role in achieving this by ensuring that marginalized children are identified, enrolled, and retained in school.
It also supports the goals of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which emphasizes technology-based monitoring systems to ensure universal access to education. With its data-driven approach, Bihar’s model could be scaled up nationally to support India’s mission of “Education for All.”
The Road Ahead
Connectivity issues in remote areas.
Need for digital literacy among school staff.
Timely data validation and updating.
FAQs
Final Words
The E-ShikshaKosh portal is a powerful example of how digital innovation can transform education governance. By tracking out-of-school children and integrating real-time data, it ensures that every child in Bihar has a chance to access quality education.
As India moves toward a digital and inclusive future, E-ShikshaKosh stands as a model for how technology and data can drive social change. Through this initiative, Bihar is not just managing education — it’s ensuring equal opportunities, better transparency, and a brighter future for every child who once stood outside the classroom door.
