UKFIET 2015: Leveraging information systems to improve secondary education in India

Leveraging information systems to improve secondary education in India

Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) is a centrally sponsored scheme launched by Government of India to enhance equitable access and improve quality of secondary education in India. This paper discusses the small yet catalytic role played by RMSA in improvement of secondary education sector financed largely (~90%) by state governments as a sustainable learning system. RMSA provides strategic support (systems, resources) to states to create and manage enabling environment for schools and ultimately for learners to succeed.

This paper also demonstrates use of need-based planning and resourcing to achieve these objectives. Decentralised planning from school level is envisioned as a key feature of this system resulting in robust district and state plans using evidence from Unified District Information System for Education (U-DISE). U-DISE collects information on many parameters of students, teachers, infrastructure and management, from around 1.5 million schools annually.

Access to this rich database is facilitated by an easy-to-use, dynamic, web-based system called ‘U-Analyse’ which presents information in a variety of predetermined infographics (charts, dashboards, thematic maps) as well as userdefined reports. Capacity of stakeholders at district, state and national level was built simultaneously to analyse indicators, look at trends, undertake comparisons, probe for associations, interpret and use this data as evidence for effective planning.

Shared transparency, timely communication and accuracy of information through introduction of web-based reporting and monitoring system for tracking physical and financial progress of implementation as key to efficient management of resources and decision making is also discussed in the paper.

Leveraging information systems to improve secondary education in India

1 Introduction

1.1 Indian School Education System and Centrally Sponsored Schemes

The Indian school education system, with 1.5 million1 schools spread over 36 states and Union Territories (UTs), is one of the largest in the world and serves a very diverse population in terms of language, region, religion, socio-economic status and expectations from the education system. The schooling system has also evolved over many years with different categories of schools, different education cycles, different managements - government, aided, private unaided, affiliated to different boards, multiple mediums of instruction, different types - boys only, girls only, co-ed and different administrative structures all of which vary hugely across the states.

Till 1976, education was in the ‘State List’2 as per the Constitution of India, with responsibility of delivery of school education lying on the state governments solely. The central government had made investments primarily in the higher and technical institutions such as the Central Universities, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Medical Colleges and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). There were huge variations in the school education systems across states and the educational indicators such as overall literacy and participation levels remained at alarmingly low levels. The centre responded by bringing education in the ‘Concurrent List’3 in 1976, thereby becoming, a permanent partner of the state governments in provision of quality education to all. The increased focus of centre was further articulated in the second National Policy of Education (NPE) formulated in 1986 which called for a “national integration in terms of education”, "child-centred approach" in primary education, and launched ‘Operation Blackboard’ to improve primary schools nationwide. Further it laid "special emphasis on the removal of disparities and to equalise educational opportunity," especially for women, Scheduled Tribes (ST) and the Scheduled Caste (SC) communities and “improvement in the quality of publicly funded schools”.

Central interventions in the education sector have been in the form of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs) such as the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development through 13.3 lakh4 Anganwadis5, which address early childhood nutrition and ‘nonformal pre-school education’; and the District Primary Education Program (DPEP) (1994-2000), Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan6 (SSA) (2001 to date), and the Midday Meal programme (MDM), which have focussed on expanding and improving elementary education.

These schemes were financed mainly by central government (by planned budget allocation), state governments (through state share) and supported by bilateral development partners and multi-lateral agencies. Though the sharing pattern varied, the centre was expected to fund the major portion (75% in the first national plan period (5 years), subsequently reduced to 50% for the next 5 year plan period). However, the primary responsibility of the schools and delivery of education was and is with the states who undertake a bulk of non-plan expenditure such as salaries. This is demonstrated from the fact that the states spend around 75% of total education expenditure at elementary and 90% at secondary level7

1 U-DISE, 2013-14

2 Constitution of India, Seventh Schedule

3 Constitution of India, Seventh Schedule

4 Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India. One lakh is one hundred thousand.

5 Community-run early childhood care centres

6 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is India’s flagship programme for the universalisation of elementary education.

7 The figures in Figure 1 are Indian Rupees, expressed in crores. One crore is ten million.

Leveraging information systems to improve secondary education in India

Share of Expenditure on education: States Vs Centre (in INR Crores)

Secondary Education and RMSA

In terms of Centrally Sponsored Schemes, there were several schemes such as ICT@Schools (2004), Girls Hostel (2009), and Inclusive Education for Disabled at Secondary Stage (IEDSS) (which replaced the Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC), started in 1995), which were targeted towards specific aspects of secondary education. However, there was no scheme for overall support to secondary education equivalent to SSA and MDM support to elementary schools.

Universalisation of elementary education had become a constitutional mandate after the enactment of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) and it was considered essential to focus on the vision towards universalisation of secondary education. Also, there was considered to be a major risk of the large investments and gains made in elementary education through SSA being neutralised if the large number of children passing out of elementary schools did not have access to good quality secondary education.

Several apex-level institutions such as the Planning Commission and Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), which is the highest deliberative and advisory forum on Education, had made observations and references to expansion of secondary education.

Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) was launched in the aforesaid background with the following vision for secondary education:

Figure 1: Share of Centre and States in Total Education Expenditure

8 MHRD, Analysis of Budgeted Expenditure on Education (2012-13), this is the most recent data on education expenditure released by MHRD.

‘..to make good quality education available, accessible and affordable to all young persons in the age group of 14-18 years’

Leveraging information systems to improve secondary education in India

The stated objectives of RMSA9 are:

1. To provide a secondary school within a reasonable distance of any habitation, which should be 5km for secondary schools and 7-10km for higher secondary schools.

2. To ensure universal access of secondary education by 2017 (GER of 100%10), and

3. Universal retention by 2020

4. To provide access to secondary education with special reference to economically weaker sections of society, the educationally backward, girls and disabled children residing in rural areas, and to other marginalised categories such as SC, ST, Other Backward Classes (OBC).

In addition, all the periodic Joint Review Missions (JRMs) of RMSA, conducted by the Government of India with its Development Partners (DPs), have stressed ‘Learning Outcomes’ and ‘Equity in learning’ for all students in secondary schools. The integration of schemes for ICT@Schools and Vocational Education strengthens the goal to make secondary education relevant to 14-18 year olds. The following figure summarises the major goals of RMSA.

Implementation Modality: A national mission on RMSA was set-up in the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), vested with full executive and financial powers in its sphere of work as the nodal body for all matters related to secondary education at the national level. The mission was empowered to fix financial and physical norms and revise as required and lay out planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation parameters to implement the scheme effectively. An Executive Committee known as Project Approval Board (PAB) and supported by Technical Support Group (TSG) was set up for overall management, appraisal and monitoring.

1.2 Technical Strengthening: Technical Cooperation Agency

To support this ambitious programme, MHRD in partnership with the DPs constituted a modality of Technical Cooperation Fund for RMSA. It was decided that the UK Department of International Development (DFID) would fund and manage the working of this through a Technical Cooperation Agency (RMSA-TCA). A TCA was duly identified and appointed through international tender. TCA works closely with the MHRD and provides technical support to the national and the regional institutes such as National

9 RMSA (2009), Programme Implementation Framework

10 Now modified to ’90% at secondary level and 75% at higher secondary level’( www.rmsaindia.org )

Figure 2: Goals of RMSA

Leveraging information systems to improve secondary education in India

Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) and the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA).

The current TCA was constituted in 2013 to provide technical support to the National Achievement Survey, School Quality, Teacher Management and Development, Data Management and Use and Results Focused Planning. Additionally, RMSA-TCA supports research and communications and knowledge management. The aim is, with a strong research and evidence base, the acceleration and increased effectiveness of RMSA in improving the secondary education system in India as a whole. The combination of these thematic areas of support has been captured by the RMSA-TCA as the graphic below.

Figure 3: SEEP Diagram

Leveraging information systems to improve secondary education in India

2 RMSA programme cycle

The schematic diagram below depicts the programme cycle of RMSA which starts with situation analysis and planning by Districts and States, moves to submission of plan, appraisal by TSG and sanction of budget. This is followed by implementation of the sanctioned activities at the appropriate level (school, district, state) and periodic monitoring.

It is a substantial challenge to plan and implement any Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) such as SSA or RMSA with uniform norms and structures and to aim for achievement of goals across diverse settings within the same timeframe. Hence, such programmes are designed and implemented in what is known as ‘mission’ mode, which is a direct translation of ‘abhiyan’. CSSs have fairly well documented frameworks of implementation, detailed norms, reporting and monitoring frameworks and defined implementation structures. They are headed by senior administrators of government in the states who is overall in-charge of the project at the state and co-ordinates directly with the MHRD at centre for different programme activities

Figure 4: RMSA Programme Cycle

Leveraging information systems to improve secondary education in India

3 RMSA programme cycle - leveraging information systems

It is also essential for a large CSS such as RMSA to leverage and develop information systems in order to effectively analyse the current situation, plan, implement and monitor progress across all the states and Union Territories (UTs) of India. RMSA has the advantage of some systems developed from earlier interventions, such as the Unified-District Information System of Education (U-DISE). A user-friendly, new website was developed for RMSA with TCA support. This was designed not only to provide all relevant information about the programme and the status against key indicators by state and district, but also to provide a platform for a Project Monitoring System (PMS), which is discussed in further detail below

In addition, with the support of TCA, exemplar practices have been piloted in selected states11 to build the capacity of key stakeholders across levels, and system development and strengthening is being undertaken (such as U-Analyse, based on U-DISE).

It is to be noted that the systems are complementary in nature and work in tandem to strengthen different components of the programme. The different stages of the programme cycle and information systems supporting that stage are described in this section.

3.1 Situation analysis and Planning

District planning has been promoted in India since DPEP (1993), and the practice continued in SSA, where every district prepared and submitted district Annual Workplans and Budgets (AWP&Bs) and the states were encouraged to use the district plans as the basis for formulating the state AWP&Bs. RMSA from its inception insisted on district planning and using U-DISE12 data for planning and budgeting.

U-DISE is a school census based Education Management Information System (EMIS) which collects data on many aspects of schools from 1.5 million elementary and secondary schools from all 36 states and Union Territories of India. At present, U-DISE uses a single integrated Data Capture Format (DCF) which is filled out by schools. Data entry starts normally at block level (also at district level in some states) and is further validated, collated and compiled at district level.

Districts are expected to undertake a detailed Situation Analysis of the secondary education sector using U-DISE data and any other state data source if required. This helps them to articulate the needs across different goals of RMSA and prepare medium-term as well as annual work plans for the activities they propose to undertake to meet the goals.

Based on the experience of piloting the decentralised planning exercise (Case Study 1, below) it was understood that access, availability and use of data still remains a challenge for stakeholders most of whom are not technically skilled to write queries and fetch data from the U-DISE database The capacity of Management Information System (MIS) Co-ordinators, planners in data analysis, dissemination and use is also a major challenge13. The need for dynamic and user-friendly reporting which allows users to do much more with available data and information led to the development of an online analytical reporting tool

This reporting tool was named as ‘U-Analyse’, as it was envisaged to provide the potential users – policy makers, decision-makers, administrators, researchers and school community useful/relevant information

11 Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Odisha

12 www.dise.in

13 RMSA-TCA(2014),, State Level U-DISE Review

Leveraging information systems to improve secondary education in India for analysis and action. The stand-out features of U-Analyse are that it presents information longitudinally i.e. over years as well as in multiple formats – tables, charts, thematic maps etc.

ACCESS: The Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) at secondary level in the year 2005-06 was 52%14 which has increased to 76.6%15 in 2013-14 due to sustained efforts to make secondary schools available to all students of age group of 14-16. This achievement is also remarkable as this has been achieved without physically setting up stand-alone new secondary schools under the scheme. The practice has been to identify unserved habitations and identify an Upper Primary (UP) school and upgrade the same to a secondary school.

Pillars of Sustainability: Efficient use of available resources

Unique school codes under U-DISE are used while making the plans and sanctioning the upgrading of the Upper Primary schools. The states set targets and plan based on all information about school including its infrastructure, teachers, enrolment in Class VIII and also track the enrolment in Class IX and X on U-DISE data submitted by the states Information collected from U-DISE is also put to good use for checking the availability of critical infrastructure and teachers teaching at upper primary and secondary schools and ensuring optimal provisioning between RMSA and SSA schemes.

This practice of upgrading Upper Primary schools already created/supported under SSA as opposed to creating new green-field schools is a good example of efficient use of available resources. This not only reduces the financial burden as common resources such as boundary wall, playground, drinking water facility, electricity and the administrative overheads get distributed but also, it greatly increases the probability of total transfer of the student cohort (JRM, 2015)

QUALITY: From the perspective of provisioning, Quality is articulated in terms of availability of adequate teaching and non-teaching staff, their training, provision of learning materials and other pedagogical support Under RMSA, not only additional teachers were sanctioned for new schools approved under the scheme but also, additional teachers were approved following the core subject teacher norms (five core subjects - maths, science, state language, English and social science) for existing secondary schools. Information and correlation of these various provisions is based on good information management system.

Another major input to improving quality of teaching learning and management of secondary school was inservice teacher training and HM’s management and leadership training. Standard norms were fixed and states were urged to plan, manage and execute their trainings for secondary school teachers every year. Quality assurance was done during the appraisal of plans by TSG wherein development of training modules, feasibility of implementation plans was reviewed and inputs provided as required.

State specific programmes related to remedial teaching, science exhibitions, book fairs, study tours were also supported to improve quality.

Again, information collected through U-DISE on teachers is used to determine the additional teacher requirement, training needs of teachers etc. Class-wise student enrolment is used to determine requirements for remedial teaching, study tours etc.

EQUITY: Equity was articulated as a key goal of RMSA from the inception and states were urged to develop specific programmes and activities for promoting participation of girls in schools as well as for scheduled caste and scheduled tribes.

14 MHRD (2006-07), Select Educational Statistics

15 U-DISE, 2013-14

Leveraging information systems to improve secondary education in India

Also, the continuity of school for Children with Special Needs (CWSN), particularly for secondary classes, has been a major challenge. The proportion of CWSN to total enrolment declines sharply from elementary to secondary level (1.27% to 0.64%16).

Since student information in U-DISE is captured by various disaggregation - gender, social category, religion and disability wise information for CWSN, it is possible for districts and states to identify, plan and conduct specific activities related to equity. Key education indicators such as GER, Promotion rate, Transition rate can all be tracked across different disaggregation to check effectiveness of interventions targeted at a particular group/category.

LEARNING OUTCOME AND RELEVANCE:

There have been many surveys and research which have point to the issue of low learning levels at all grade levels (Oza & Bethell, 2013)17. The JRM also repeatedly points out a lack of secondary school preparedness - ‘most of the children entering grade IX lack basic literacy and numeracy competencies18’, ‘lack of secondary school readiness of students entering grade IX from grade VIII19’. NCERT has embarked on the first National Achievement Survey (NAS) at Class X level. The survey will provide information on subject-wise learning outcomes of students also desegregated by gender, location and social categories. The field survey has already been conducted in the majority of states and UTs, and initial findings are expected in September, 2015 In addition, many state-specific activities related to pedagogy, assessment, special learning materials, remedial classes/materials that aim to improve learning outcomes have been funded through RMSA.

Pillars of Sustainability: Integration of programmes with common goals

Integration of schemes for Girls Hostel and Inclusive Education into RMSA gave a more funds and means to address the equity challenges in a more comprehensive manner. Girls Hostel scheme which provides full residential facilities to girls often along with a school not only addresses the access but also the retention issue.

Inclusive Education for Disabled at Secondary Stage (IEDSS) is a scheme for children that provides for learning resources as required by type of disability affecting students, provision of special training to all teachers as well as specially trained teachers.

GERs at secondary level remains quite low (even after introduction of RMSA) and decreases further at higher secondary level. This points to massive drop-outs from the system. Many students seek employment opportunities around this age group (14-18) and the workforce participation rate of 19.7%20 (India) at age group of 15-19 attests to this fact. Also, quality secondary school education prepares the students for undertaking further formal education and/or to find decent skilled work. A scheme for ‘Vocationalisation of Higher Secondary Education (VE)’ was developed in 2011, which aims not only to enhance the chances of employability for students but also to make them stay in school longer.

16 U-DISE (2013-14)

17 Jayshree Oza and Bethell, G., Assessing Learning Outcomes: Policies, Progress and Challenges, DFID, 2013

18 RMSA, Aide Memoir (Jan 2013), First Joint Review Mission

19 RMSA Aide Memoir (Jan 2015), Fifth Joint Review Mission

20 NSSO, 68th round

Leveraging information systems to improve secondary education in India

3.2 Case Study 1: A piloting of Decentralised Medium and Annual Planning

Though habitation based planning is suggested21 and schools are asked to undertake school development/improvement plans (Planning and Appraisal Manual22, NUEPA) the practice varies a lot across states and there is little evidence to suggest that school plans inform the district planning23. Even, district plans were reduced to mere data filling exercise and the plan preparation was under-taken at state level by few individuals – usually planning and MIS co-ordinators.

RMSA-TCA undertook a piloting exercise across four states24 (106 districts) to build the capacity of district and state level staff involved in development and finalisation of the AWP&Bs and to increase stakeholder participation in the planning process. The broad steps followed during the process were as shown in the flow chart below:

Figure 5: Process flow for decentralised medium and annual planning pilot Sustainable Design: It was planned that the state planning team would train the districts (as opposed to TCA). This would not only build more ownership of the entire process but also ensure continuity and sustainability of this kind of intervention. TCA provided capacity building and technical support in designing the training programme and building capacity of the state teams to train and conduct the district workshops. All this, along with the process was documented25 and made available26 through website for not only the pilot states but also other states to adapt and adopt.

21 Approach and Principles of Planning; http://rmsaindia.org/images/Approach_Principles_planning.pdf

22 NUEPA (2011), Planning and Appraisal Manual for secondary education

23 RMSA-TCA (2013), Needs Assessment; Planning and Budgeting

24 Assam, Bihar, Meghalaya, Odisha

25 RMSA-TCA (2014), How to Guide for Decentralised Planning

26 RMSA-TCA (2014), Report on Medium Term planning pilot

Leveraging information systems to improve secondary education in India

3.3 Appraisal of plan and Sanction of Budget

Pillars of Sustainability: Needs based prioritisation

As with most budgeting systems, when the demand is much more than available funds, especially for RMSA which has an outlay around INR 3000 Crore, among competing demands, sanctions were made based on priorities decided by state as well as centre for that year. States were encouraged to plan for remaining components which could not be sanctioned in a particular year in the subsequent years.

The plans prepared by states are submitted to TSG for review and appraisal. TCA worked TSG to streamline the appraisal process for the year 2014-15. Detailed guidelines were provided to states on different goals of RMSA –access, quality, equity etc. through the RMSA website27 . Outcome based planning was promoted and states prepared detailed projects, combining several related activities, clearly articulating the rationale, intended outcomes, implementation mechanisms and monitoring and reporting structures for the same.

One major step forward over previous years was the on-line submission of data, plan document and cost sheet. For communication, video conferencing was used to communicate to all state planning co-ordinators on the priorities of the year, guidelines and modalities of plan submission. This had a direct and positive impact in terms of documentation, duration of review and clarifications on the overall process of plan review and appraisal.

3.4 Implementation

Implementation of a large programme such as RMSA requires seamless flow of information not only between centre-statedistrict but also to public to raise awareness and invite participation. TCA supported RMSA-MHRD to develop a portal for RMSA (www.rmsaindia.org ) which not only provides information related to the scheme (including all five schemes integrated into it) but also helps have an interactive online platform where states and districts can exchange (take and provide) valuable programme information.

This was manifest in many ways:

Pillars of Sustainability: Building lasting partnerships

It is quintessential to build lasting partnerships among different actors/stakeholders for successful implementation. Partnerships that draw upon the strengths of respective stakeholders – community, government, private sector and create a level playing field with mutual trust and respect are more likely to last and deliver the intended outcomes. An example of this is the Swaccha Vidyalaya initiative which had an ambitious target of construction/repair of nearly 400,000 facilities in one year. This target has been achieved by partnership between government (district, state administration with GoI), private sector donors, Public Sector Units and use of technology. This portal also has a provision of uploading of photographs and feedback by anyone in public interest.

 Sharing of summary state dashboards (example – Jharkhand28)

 Opportunity for state to share best practices about their states (example – Tamil Nadu29)

 Sharing of state wise physical and financial progress (including fund releases) by ‘State Brief Information’ (example – Uttarakhand30)

 Updated contact details of state officers maintained by states

27 AWP&B (2015-16); http://rmsaindia.org/en/programme-components/planning-and-appraisal/awp-b-2015-16.html

28 http://rmsaindia.org/en/rmsainstates.html?id=jharkhand

29 http://rmsaindia.org/en/rmsainstates.html?id=tamil_nadu

30 http://rmsaindia.org/en/component/content/article.html?id=115

Leveraging information systems to improve secondary education in India

3.5 Case Study 2: Digital Driving Delivery - Swachh Vidyalaya Portal

Provision of separate toilets for girls and boys has been one of the important provisions under CSS such as SSA and RMSA, several state governments and even the private sector have supported this in few schools. However, the Prime Minister of India made a pledge to the nation under the Clean India (Swachh Bharat) campaign to ensure that every school in India has a separate and functional toilet for boys and girls within a year. He invited private sector to be a partner in this process. MHRD translated this into Clean Schools (Swachh Vidyalaya) campaign and used the latest U-DISE data to calculate the number of schools that needed (i) new toilet construction and, (ii) repair and/or reconstruction of existing toilets.

A portal was created with support of TCA which displayed state-wise data on number of schools requiring toilets. Interested partners could drill-down from state to district, district to blocks and ultimately to schools, review basic information about the school (captured in U-DISE) and pledge their support to the school(s). The portal also allowed the users to update the progress of schools supported by them and report the same dynamically. To establish accountability and credibility they were encouraged to upload pictures are every stage of construction with their smartphones with latitude-longitude information. This innovative use of technology ensured rapid implementation, real-time monitoring and support which enabled almost 100% achievement of the target within a stipulated time frame of one year.

Figure 6: Screenshot of Swacch Vidyalaya portal

Leveraging information systems to improve secondary education in India

3.6 Monitoring progress using the Project Monitoring System (PMS)

The PMS as an important and integral part of the RMSA portal conceptualised by MHRD that requires state and district log-in for them to not only access information relevant to them but also report back on physical (actual implementation) and financial (generation of Utilisation Certificates and financial reporting) progress.

Pillars of Sustainability: Transparency and accountability

PMS has also fostered high level of accuracy, transparency and accountability, with respect to physical and financial status of progress and especially the status of the fund releases from centre to states to districts.

For all the non-recurring components such as construction of new schools, civil works etc. the schools report physical progress of construction (construction started; level of completion etc.) and utilisation of sanctioned money given for civil works/new construction (school wise) every month to district office where the status is directly uploaded onto PMS via district log-ins which is made available on-line through internet.

Through PMS all levels right up to MHRD can get almost real-time update on status. This puts responsibility of accurate reporting on districts and states as well as on the centre and state for timely flow of funds to carry out the activities as planned.

For the recurring activities, such as the quality interventions that are planned at state level and implemented at district level, State Project Office (usually the Quality Co-ordinators) regularly update the PMS through state log-ins. As these activities are recurring in nature and would lapse if left un-utilised, regular monitoring and support provided by TSG is critical to help the states achieve sanctioned targets.

All fund release is initiated through PMS and status of funds is sent instantaneously from the system to the state at every stage including the final transfer to the bank accounts. Delay in release of funds was frequently cited as the major reason for delay in implementation and a lot of management and administrative bandwidth was wasted in checking and reconciling the facts using printed hard-copies, orders etc.

Leveraging information systems to improve secondary education in India

4 Conclusion

In a country as large and diverse as India, there will be wide variations in delivery of education at schools across states, districts. Central impetus in the form of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) may be required from time to time to respond to emergent needs and aspirations of society, to ensure fulfilment of constitutional obligations and to reduce regional disparities between states and districts. CSSs that are well conceptualised, leverage existing resources (physical, human power, institutions and systems), aim at providing critical yet necessary support to states and continuously building their capacity and mainstream good practices can go a long way in supporting the states in delivering quality education to its most precious asset – children. In order for the efforts of the CSS to be sustainable and get mainstreamed, there are learnings that could be drawn from the implementation of schemes such as RMSA The figure below depicts some of the pillars of sustainability as discussed before in the paper.

The success of a CSS such as RMSA will be heavily dependent on modern information systems such as U-DISE, U-Analyse, RMSA web-portal, Swachha Vidyalaya Portal and a Project Monitoring System (PMS) that work in tandem throughout the entire programme cycle of planning, sanction, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The figure below shows the RMSA programme cycle and information systems supporting the different stages.

Figure 7: Pillars of sustainability of RMSA as a CSS

Leveraging information systems to improve secondary education in India

The information systems by definition increase accuracy and efficiency (shorten time) leading to acceleration towards programme goals. The systems should be designed to meet the long to medium term as well as immediate goals. Capacity of users of such systems needs to be built more on articulation of needs, understanding of outputs from such system and ability to use the outputs to achieve programme targets/objectives.

These information systems need to be designed with the potential users in mind. With the bridging of digital divide through internet connectivity, especially through smart phones these users could include all; urban and rural, women and men as well as across socio-economic barriers. These systems also will need to be flexible to respond to evolving needs of the programme and users.

Figure 8: Information Systems supporting different stages of RMSA Programme Cycle