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Government-Aided Schools Face Salary Grant Suspension Over Non-Compliance

The submission of staff attendance records and student data has been made compulsory for schools that receive government funding.

Government-Aided Schools Face Salary Grant Suspension Over Non-Compliance
SHARES

Government-aided schools have been warned that their salary grants may be withheld if they fail to meet certain criteria outlined by the state government. A directive was recently issued to the Commissioner of Education, mandating that all aided schools submit biometric or face-recognition-based attendance records for both teaching and non-teaching staff. Additionally, schools have been required to provide updates on the status of Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) IDs for students and ensure that data is uploaded to the Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK), a centralized platform for real-time monitoring of school operations.

The submission of staff attendance records and student data has been made compulsory for schools that receive government funding. It has been stated in the directive that failure to comply with these requirements will result in the withdrawal of salary grants. The collection of these reports has been assigned to local education officers following instructions from the Commissioner of Education. However, this move has reportedly led to dissatisfaction among educators and school administrators.

Concerns about the new regulations have been expressed by school principals and teachers. It has been argued that while the use of biometric systems for tracking staff attendance is understood, the connection of salary grants to APAAR ID generation and VSK data uploads is viewed as unfair. It has been pointed out that these processes, which are still in progress, are not entirely under the control of schools. The APAAR ID system, which has been designed to serve as a comprehensive digital academic record for students, is still being implemented, and various challenges have been noted during the process. Similarly, the VSK platform has been described as a tool for monitoring the progress of school education through digital records. Concerns have been raised by educators regarding the time-consuming nature of these tasks, with calls being made for additional time to ensure compliance.

The introduction of these new systems has added to the administrative burden faced by schools. It has been suggested that sufficient time be allocated for the implementation of APAAR ID generation and VSK data uploads, given the challenges involved. Frustration has been reported among educators, who have claimed that the linking of salary grants to these requirements is an unnecessary complication. The directive is part of the government’s efforts to streamline school records and improve accountability through digital platforms. However, the resulting resistance from school staff indicates that the transition may require further consideration to ensure smooth implementation and compliance.

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