Bihar has achieved what would have seemed till a few years back unachievable. It has become the first state in the country to put details of Classes I to VIII of all its 70,000 government schools online.

Go to www.schoolreportcards.in and select the state, and what you get is every little detail on students, teachers, education status, phone number, development grant, school condition, required number of classrooms, etc.
Bihar responded fast to DISE by asking its schools principals, block education officers and district superintendents of education to furnish data fast with accuracy.

To ensure the data are correct, five per cent schools underwent a recheck by an independent agency.

It took the Nitish government five years of rigorous planning and a meticulous computing exercise to achieve the task and is a major fillip to its move to implement the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

A School Report Card (SRC), as it is termed, is a serious attempt to know the overall education status with special focus on SC/ST and OBC students by applying 46 education parameters.

The SRC, while segregating the attendance and results of caste and religious groups, is equally watchful on gender parity. A recent report says of 2.91 lakh out-of-school children, girls and boys are evenly matched.
The details are part of a nationwide database created by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration on elementary education under its project, District Information System for Education (DISE).

The project covers primary and upper primary schools in all districts across India and is supported by the Ministry of Human Resource Development and UNICEF. So far, information on 1.3 million schools across India are on net.

Though it was an overall state HRD department exercise, the massive computing task was mainly done by the Bihar Education Project Council (BEPC), a registered government body that takes care of elementary education.

Rajesh Bhushan, BEPC special project director, said: “The report card gives a clear picture on what exactly needs to be done. While it helps us get feedback from parents, we also know what needs to be corrected”.

Bhushan said Bihar not only became the first state to complete the computing exercise, the HRD department ensured its accuracy by rechecking five per cent schools every September.

The SRC also mentions the increase in enrolment and attendance incentives such as free school uniform, stationery, textbooks and midday meals.

The director said information such as pupil-student ratio, students-classroom ratio and required number of teachers would be very helpful in shaping policies.

FEATHER IN CAP

* Bihar first state to get all its 70,000 govt schools on net.
* Details like attendance, funds, midday meals, uniform status, exam results, SC/ST and OBC students online.
* Part of database created by National University of Educational Planning and Administration on elementary education under its project, District Information System for Education.