Dahar - Jharkhand 8.0

DAHAR is a mobile and web-based digital application created for the comprehensive action plan and review of out-of-school (OoSC) and dropout children in Jharkhand state, in collaboration with UNICEF. The name "DAHAR" originates from the Nagpuri dialect, a local language in the Chotanagpur region of the state, meaning "Pathway." This initiative is led by the Jharkhand Education Project Council under the School Education and Literacy Department, Jharkhand, the implementing agency of the flagship education program "Samagra Shiksha." The primary purpose of this application is to track out-of-school children, devise plans for their integration into the regular schooling system, and monitor initiatives aimed at their inclusion.

The DAHAR application allows for conducting door-to-door surveys to establish a database of all school-going age children, identifying and monitoring OoSC promptly through thorough data analysis, and integrating them back into the educational system effectively. It aims to reduce the number of out-of-school children by ensuring timely enrollment, regular attendance, and flexible learning options for elementary and secondary school-aged children.

This digital tool is an advanced version of traditional pen-and-paper forms, enabling data collection in fields that require both characters and numerical inputs. It facilitates real-time data validation to ensure the quality of collected data for future analysis.

Three main user types will extensively utilize this application, each with specific roles crucial for the success of the program:

• School teacher (Surveyor) – responsible for identifying out-of-school children
• Head Master (Planning officer) – tasked with enrolling out-of-school children
• Monitoring Officer (Zonal officer) – in charge of monitoring out-of-school children

The application's functionality varies based on the user type logged in. It serves purposes such as identification, planning, enrollment, monitoring, and ultimate mainstreaming of out-of-school children for the upcoming academic sessions. Moreover, headmasters can add and link habitations to specific catchment areas using their interface.

Features of the Application:

• Digital Survey
• Offline Functionality – enables surveys without internet connectivity; data is stored locally and synced to the server once connectivity is restored
• User-Friendly Interface
• Bilingual Support – available in English and Hindi
• Multiple concurrent surveys can be conducted on a single application
• Data validations are incorporated to enhance data quality