Every cloud, it is said, has a silver lining. The silver lining to the dark report on the pupil-less schools is that there is an organisation in place that does such an extensive survey of schools from all across the country and submits its analytical report within the same academic year! For once we have a reason to rejoice and move the spotlight from the non-performing, defunct schools to a performing, dynamic body.
The National University of Educational Planning and Administration or NUEPA is a premier organisation of its kind in the Asian Region, engaged in capacity building and research in educational planning and administration. Its primary agenda includes building sustainable capacity in planning and management at all levels in the country; generating knowledge through research and extension; disseminating knowledge and preparing certified professionals.
The NUEPA has created a comprehensive database on elementary education in India under one of its most prestigious projects, known as, District Information System for Education (DISE). DISE is supported by the Ministry of Human Resource Development and UNICEF.
The first version of the DISE software was released by NIEPA during the middle of 1995. Subsequent to that revisions have been made to include more and more variables. The system now covers eight years of schooling in all primary, upper primary and primary/upper primary sections of the secondary and higher secondary schools. The project covers not only government run schools, but also privately run recognised and unrecognised schools.
The concept and definitions of educational variables involved therein have been standardised at the national level and are uniformly followed by all districts and states. Manual aggregation of data at different levels is completely replaced by computerised data entry and report generation system. Detailed data on individual teachers, para-teachers and community teachers and their profile, including data on in-service training received, is collected and made available. The software also provides an easy-to-use dynamic graphics facility to enhance the presentation of various types of graphs and data.
The DISE software is now operational in 581 districts in 29 States & UTs of the country and is providing vital information for policy formulation and preparation of district elementary education plans.
A significant achievement has been that DISE has completely eliminated time-lag in educational statistics. At the national level, the time-lag has come down from the earlier 7-8 years to just one year and to a few months in the district level.
DISE has also eliminated data gaps as comprehensive information is now available on all aspects of universal elementary education across the country
The trend analysis of DISE data helps in identifying major block and district specific issues for being used in developing perspective and annual plans.
To further improve the scope and quality of educational statistics, the National University has developed a million plus report cards of primary and upper primary schools under its DISE. The school report cards are now accessible on line at http://www.school report
cards.in. As of now, Karnataka is missing from the 2005-2006 report, as apparently, the State had submitted its data late.    
For the first time, a District Report Card which contains cross-sectional data on more than four hundred variables at the district level on elementary education is being released annually as part of DISE dissemination activities. State Report Cards have also been developed and are being disseminated for the last four years.
The Analytical Report containing detailed analysis of DISE data is also being published annually.
The Report Cards are produced to provide users comprehensive information on all the vital parameters, be it student, teacher or school related variables. The information about each school is given in a standard format which is easy to understand and allows meaningful comparisons to be made among schools.
The Indian education system is one of the largest education systems in the World; it caters to the needs of more than 1,028 million people. For successful implementation of any educational programme, effective monitoring, coupled with efficient information system, is essential. The role played by NUEPA is invaluable as it forms the basis of planning, monitoring and evaluation of various aspects of education.
That IT is being effectively employed to better our educational system is indeed an important news that we must take pride in.
KB