How Jammu & Kashmir Govt Is Using Smartphones To Put Out-Of-School Children In Classes

The Jammu and Kashmir Samagra Shiksha has rolled out a mobile app for mapping of "out-of-school children (OOSC)".

The 'Talaash' app was launched virtually by Jammu and Kashmir Samagra Shiksha Project Director Dr Arun Manhas.

"The OOSC programme aims to enumerate and keep track of OOSC in a timely manner through intensive data analysis and monitoring," an official spokesperson told news agency PTI.

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How does the Talaash app work?

The app includes a web-based and a mobile application for data collection and tracking of out-of-school children and a dashboard for reporting purposes.

The application is meant for use on smartphones by teachers and others.

It will also facilitate effective monitoring and tracking of out-of-school children as they are identified and enrolled in schools and special training programmes, the spokesman said.

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The Union territory has an estimated 27,500 out-of-school children (OOSC), comprising two categories - never enrolled and dropouts.

There are various provisions for mainstreaming of OOSC in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, MoE guidelines on special training and MHRD clarification on provisions of RTE Act, 2009.