Technology helps CSMC curb dropouts, improve attendance and boost literacy

Rafique Aziz

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Parents from upper and middle income households often go to great lengths to secure admission for their children in reputed schools, prioritising quality education despite high fees. Acting as a guardian for families from lower-income and underprivileged communities, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) has taken on the challenge of ensuring that no child is left behind in civic schools. Through its commendable student-retention initiatives, the corporation has been working steadily to achieve 100 percent attendance and move towards complete literacy. A key driver of this effort is the Savitri Education Control Room (SECR), which has been functioning for the past few years.

CSMC currently runs 50 schools from Balwadi to Class 8 and 17 high schools covering Classes 9 and 10. The total strength of students is 17, 929. These 67 civic schools, offering Marathi, Urdu and bilingual mediums.

Technology-driven monitoring

The SECR operates as a centralised system that monitors student attendance across all municipal schools using a dedicated software, Smart Guru e-Prashashan. The control room has been set up at the Bharat Ratna Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Research Centre. The operating time is 9.30 am to 6.30 pm.

Pilot Project shows strong results

Coordinator and programme officer Dnyandev Sangle said, " SECR is a pilot project launched by CSMC in September 2023. Before SECR, attendance in civic schools hovered around 69 per cent. After the project’s implementation, attendance rose to 81 pc in 2023–24, 86 pc in 2024–25, and 91 pc in 2025–26 (till date). We have four counsellors for counselling students remaining absent in school without any intimation. Counselling has been a major contributor to this progress. In 2024–25, SECR counselled 1,369 students through phone calls and 76 through home visits. In the current academic year (2025–26), 805 students have been counselled by phone and 22 through home visits.”

“Through tracking students and teachers’ attendance, we prevented dropouts of students, especially girls. Besides, the data is available live and the educational improvement is noteworthy. This is an achievement for CSMC and a testament to the success of the pilot project,” Sangle said.

SECR infrastructure and workflow

Established under the Smart City Mission, the SECR is equipped with 10 networked computers, a training hall and a panel discussion room. It is mandatory for teachers to upload class-wise attendance within an hour to an hour and a half via the Smart Guru app. This data is displayed on a large digital dashboard at SECR and is accessible to the municipal commissioner, deputy commissioner (education), education officer and controlling officer.

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How SECR Intervenes

The control room follows a tiered intervention system:

3 days of absence: SECR alerts the class teacher, who contacts the student’s parents.

7 days of absence: The headmaster is notified and follows up with parents directly.

15 days of absence: A counsellor, along with school staff, visits the student’s home to speak with both the child and parents, addressing issues through counselling and offering necessary support.

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Major Reasons Behind Student Absenteeism

Onset of menstruation

Domestic violence between parents

Orthodox attitudes restricting girls’ education

Girls accompanying single mothers to work

Child marriage in progress

Migration of labourers (brick-kiln workers and sugarcane cutters)

Lack of educational environment at home; child is the only child

Financial difficulties