Mumbai has taken a commanding lead in a major statewide initiative to convert the physical employment records of education department staff into digital format. The city has successfully uploaded nearly 60% of the required employee data to the government's online system, setting a benchmark for the rest of Maharashtra.
Statewide Drive with a September Deadline
The comprehensive digitisation exercise, which covered both teaching and non-teaching staff across all government and aided institutions, mandated employees to submit key documents online. These included crucial papers like original appointment orders, joining reports, official approval letters, and detailed service records. The portal used for this massive undertaking is the state's centralised Shalarth system, which manages salary, service, and financial details for education personnel. The government had set a firm deadline of September 20 for the completion of all submissions.
A Stark Digital Divide Across Districts
While Mumbai's progress is notable, the overall picture across Maharashtra reveals a highly uneven pace of implementation. Several districts are struggling with alarmingly low compliance rates. Dhule, Akola, and Solapur have each managed to digitise less than 1% of their employee records, a figure that contrasts sharply with Mumbai's performance. This discrepancy places Mumbai well above the state's average completion rate and underscores a significant digital divide in administrative processes.
The drive primarily targets employees who were appointed before the year 2016, a time when creating a Shalarth ID was not compulsory. Consequently, records for many of these earlier appointments have remained solely in physical files stored at individual schools and education offices. This reliance on paper has long complicated essential procedures like verification and audits.
Consolidating Data and Identifying Discrepancies
The current push for digitisation follows increased scrutiny of the Shalarth portal after irregularities were flagged in the creation and usage of Shalarth IDs. The core objective of the exercise is to bring uniformity and transparency to the system. By scanning and uploading these legacy records and linking them to verified employee profiles, the government aims to achieve several key goals:
- Consolidate all employee data into a single, accessible digital repository.
- Identify and rectify discrepancies in service and appointment records.
- Streamline records that are currently scattered across various district and local offices.
In districts where uploads remain negligible, the continued absence of digitised records poses ongoing challenges. Routine administrative tasks, record verification for promotions or pensions, and official audits remain cumbersome and time-consuming. This situation highlights the uneven implementation of a critical governance reform across the state, with Mumbai emerging as a clear frontrunner in embracing digital administration for its education workforce.
