CHENNAI: The school education department has instructed all government, aided and private schools to open bank accounts for all its students. This initiative will commence on the day schools reopen.
The department has also issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) for implementing this initiative. Bank accounts will be opened for students starting from the age of five, ie., class 1 students. These accounts will be utilised by the department to ensure direct benefit transfers (DBT) under various schemes aimed at preventing dropouts of students.
The account details of all students will be updated in the Education Information Management System (EMIS), which will be monitored at the state level. The chief technology officer will create a module in the EMIS for this purpose.
In collaboration with district management, the department will arrange for bank officials to visit schools to open bank accounts. Additionally, schools are required to ensure that the biometrics of students aged five to 10 are updated on their Aadhaar cards so that bank accounts can be opened.
The SOP also outlines the roles of the state project officer of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and district-level officers in this initiative. The district officials will also spread awareness about the initiative among parents.