Vidya Samiksha Kendra

Vidya Samiksha Kendra

News: Recently, under the National Digital Education Architecture (NDEAR), the Ministry of Education is pushing States to open Vidya Samiksha Kendras (VSKs).

What are VSKs?
• Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSKs) is a data repository which will have data from all schemes run by the Ministry of Education (MoE).
• The control rooms of these Kendras will collect data to track key performance indicators as well as analyse data collated from govt schemes ‘using AI & machine-learning.’

Which data will be included?
• The PM-POSHAN mid-day meal programmes;
• Teacher training data from the National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement portal (NISHTHA)
• Textbook content from Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing;
• School dropout and attendance-related data on Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE+);
• Students learning outcomes from the National Achievement Survey;
• Performance Grading Index, which evaluates the school education system at the State/U.T. level.

What about funding?
• The Centre has allocated funds ranging from 2 to 5 crore rupees to each State for adopting and establishing VSKs.

Importance:
• It can help plan for new schools or for industry clusters to understand the skilling requirements of the area and help plan higher educational institutions based on demand and future scenarios.