Schools must try to collect fees via UPI, digital modes: Union Education Ministry

New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS) Aiming to align educational administration with the government's broader goal of digital transformation, the Ministry of Education is encouraging schools to collect fees through secure digital modes, an official said on Saturday.

The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, in a letter to States/UTs and other stakeholders, has emphasised on promoting the adoption of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) across schools in States and Union Territories (UTs).

The measure aims to strengthen Ease of Schooling by modernising administrative processes, especially those related to financial transactions in schools, said the official in a statement.

"This initiative will contribute significantly towards realising the vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047 - a digitally empowered, inclusive, and citizen-centric education system," it said.

Leveraging the significant and growing penetration of digital payment platforms, the Department has also encouraged autonomous bodies under the Ministry such as NCERT, CBSE, KVS, NVS to explore and implement mechanisms that enable schools to collect admission and examination fees through secure and transparent digital modes, said the statement.

The letter mentions that transitioning from cash-based to digital payments offers multiple advantages.

For parents and students, it ensures convenience, transparency, and the ability to make payments from home without visiting schools, it said.

Encouraging States and UTs to take similar steps, the Department has stated that the move towards digital payments in schools will be an important stride in aligning educational administration with the government's broader goal of Digital Transformation, it said.

This would also enable all stakeholders to become more financially literate thereby opening up a larger world of digital transactions, it said.

On Friday, the NITI Aayog recommended the launch of a National AI Talent Mission, a bold, nationally coordinated effort to transform India into the AI workforce capital of the world.

NITI Aayog released a 'Roadmap for Job Creation in the AI Economy' by B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, CEO, NITI Aayog, in the presence of Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy; Vineet Joshi, Secretary, Department of Higher Education; Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow, NITI Aayog and other distinguished guests and dignitaries.

The roadmap examines how Artificial Intelligence is reshaping the tech services industry through the lens of work, worker, and workforce.

The report highlights that AI disruption is already reshaping jobs in India’s $245 billion technology and customer experience (CX) sectors.

--IANS

rch/svn