School mapping carried out in State under Samagra Shiksha scheme

CHENNAI: All schools in Tamil Nadu are being mapped geographically under the Samagra Shiksha (SS), a Centrally sponsored integrated scheme for School Education. The annual mapping exercise is being carried out to ensure that schools are available within stipulated distances from habitations as mandated by the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

“Through mapping, we plan to reach out to all children in the age group of 4-18 years and use the information to build new schools if needed,” said an official in charge of SS, adding that this will help identify gaps such as habitations that do not have access to schooling.

This mapping exercise is likely to be carried out using a combination of on-foot survey, community based mapping, and satellite imagery with the help of Geographical Information System (GIS), the official said.

GIS will provide basic spatial information of an existing school, location of nearby school, distance between two schools and distance from school to habitation, etc. “The information collected will let us know which school has more resources and which require more.

This will help to ensure efficient and equitable distribution of resources within and between school systems and help in planning a sustainable development strategy,” the official added. The exercise, which started on Tuesday will be carried out until December 18.