In a significant move to digitize school governance, the Maharashtra state education department has issued a compulsory directive for all government, municipal corporation, and zilla parishad-run schools. They must now register their exact geographical coordinates using a dedicated mobile application.
What is the UDISE Plus GIS Capture App?
The UDISE Plus GIS Capture mobile application has been specifically developed to digitally record the precise physical location of educational institutions. The app captures accurate latitude and longitude data, providing a reliable and verifiable digital footprint for every school.
This initiative is being rolled out under the guidance of the Union Ministry of Education's Department of School Education and Literacy. The technical backbone for the app was provided by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in New Delhi. The application is readily available for download on both the Google Play Store for Android devices and the Apple App Store for iOS platforms.
Implementation and Directives for School Heads
State Project Director Sanjay Yadav has communicated clear directives to ensure the program's success. Headmasters of all concerned schools have been instructed to personally download the app on their smartphones. They must log in using their existing UDISE Plus ID and password, and crucially, record the school's location while being physically present on the school premises.
The responsibility for ensuring complete compliance has been delegated to local administrations. Municipal commissioners and Zilla Parishad chief executive officers across Maharashtra are tasked with supervising the exercise and guaranteeing that no school is left out within their jurisdictions.
Long-Term Impact on Educational Planning
Officials emphasize that the collected geospatial data will be transformative. Sanjay Yadav stated that precise location information will support evidence-based planning, optimal allocation of educational resources, and informed policy formulation. It will enable detailed graphical analysis of the school network across the state, district, and taluka levels.
The data will prove critical for future administrative decisions, including potential school mergers, approvals for new institutions, strategic teacher deployment, and targeted infrastructure development. By plotting each school's exact location on a map, authorities can assess accessibility issues, identify regional gaps in educational services, and pinpoint areas of overlap with unprecedented precision.
The primary objective is to build an authentic, robust digital foundation for school governance in Maharashtra. Once completed, this comprehensive mapping exercise is expected to pave the way for smarter planning, more transparent administration, and strengthened implementation of all educational programs in the state.
