Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami will launch smart identity cards for students on Thursday. It will be distributed to 70 lakh children across the State, announced School Education Minister KA Sengottaiyan.
Speaking to the media persons, the minister said the smart cards would come with QR code technology. The code will be linked to vital information such as name, ID, date of birth, attendance, blood group, photograph and address, among other things and can be obtained from the common database.
Of the 70.60 lakh students who will get the smart cards, 46.61 lakh study in government schools and 23.99 lakh in government-aided schools. In the first phase, it will be distributed to all government school students and then in aided schools in the next phase, the minister said. Sengottaiyan said smart cards would also be linked soon with the biometric system introduced in over 7,000 government schools.
“The smart ID cards will help parents keep track of their wards. In case, students are absent, an SMS will be sent to the parents,” a senior official from the School Education Department said.
The printing and distribution of smart cards is being carried out by the Director of the Tamil Nadu Text Book and Educational Services Corporation at a budget of nearly Rs 12.71 crore, according to an order issued by the government in October 2018. Any additional expenditure would be presented before the Assembly, the order said, adding unexpected expenses would be met from a contingency fund. In addition, the official said Kalvi TV, the School Education Department’s own channel, will be launched soon. The channel will broadcast NEET and other classes, interviews of the School Education Minister, shows on schemes of the department, segments on Tirukkural and other literary content. The channel will be operated out of the eighth floor of the Anna Centenary Library in Kotturpuram.
Sengottaiyan met mediapersons after signing an MoU with UNESCO, New Delhi, for advancing the health and wellbeing of adolescents in middle, secondary and senior secondary schools in Tamil Nadu. He said that Tamil Nadu was the first State to tie up with UNESCO on an anti-bullying campaign. “UNESCO members will hold weekly training for government teachers on prevention of bullying,” he said.
24.2L students would be provided smart free bus passes soon said Transport Minister MR Vijayabhaskar.
