Mumbai Tops Education Department Digitisation Drive At 60%, Several Districts Lag Below 1%

Mumbai has emerged as the leading district in Maharashtra’s ongoing education department digitisation drive, recording nearly 60% completion in uploading employee service records to the state government’s Shalarth portal. The progress places Mumbai far ahead of most other districts, many of which are still struggling to begin the process, with some reporting compliance levels of less than 1%.

The state-wide initiative aims to digitise employment records of both teaching and non-teaching staff working in government and aided educational institutions. The exercise required employees to upload key documents such as appointment orders, joining reports, approval letters, and detailed service records to the Shalarth system. The deadline for submissions was September 20, though implementation progress has varied widely across regions.

Wide Gap In District-Level Performance

While Mumbai’s near-60% completion rate has set a benchmark, several districts remain significantly behind. Dhule, Akola and Solapur are among the worst performers, each having digitised less than 1% of their employee records so far. This stark contrast highlights the uneven pace of implementation across Maharashtra and raises concerns over administrative readiness in many regions.

Officials familiar with the process point out that urban centres like Mumbai benefit from better digital infrastructure, higher administrative capacity, and greater familiarity with online systems. In contrast, districts with limited resources and staffing shortages are finding it difficult to mobilise schools and employees for large-scale digitisation.

Focus On Pre-2016 Appointments

A key challenge in the exercise is the focus on employees appointed before 2016, when the creation of a Shalarth ID was not mandatory. For many of these employees, service records still exist only in physical files stored at schools, education offices, or district-level departments.

Over the years, this reliance on paper-based records has complicated verification, audits, and service-related processes such as promotions, transfers, and retirement benefits. Missing or incomplete files, manual errors, and inconsistencies across offices have further added to administrative delays.

By digitising these legacy records and linking them to verified employee profiles, the state aims to create a single, consolidated database of education department staff.

Why Shalarth Matters
 

The Shalarth portal is the Maharashtra government’s centralised online system for managing salary payments, service records, and financial details of education department employees. It plays a critical role in payroll processing and compliance monitoring.

The current digitisation push gained urgency after irregularities were flagged in the creation and use of Shalarth IDs. These concerns prompted closer scrutiny of the system and underscored the need for accurate, verified, and uniformly maintained employee data.

Officials say that digitising legacy records will help:

• Identify duplicate or irregular entries
• Detect discrepancies in service histories
• Improve audit and verification processes
• Ensure timely salary and pension disbursements
• Bring transparency and uniformity across districts

Administrative Challenges In Low-Performing Districts

In districts where uploads remain negligible, the absence of digitised records continues to pose serious challenges. Routine administrative tasks such as pay verification, service audits, and record cross-checking still depend on physical files, making the process slow and error-prone.

Education officials note that factors such as lack of trained staff, limited internet access, and inadequate monitoring have slowed progress in several regions. In some cases, schools have struggled to locate old documents or verify records that are decades old.

The state education department is expected to review district-wise performance and may consider issuing additional directions or support measures to accelerate compliance in lagging areas.

Mumbai Sets The Pace

Mumbai’s higher completion rate has been attributed to stronger coordination between schools, education offices, and administrative authorities. Dedicated teams were reportedly deployed to assist staff in document uploads, verification, and troubleshooting issues on the Shalarth portal.

While 60% completion still leaves room for improvement, officials see Mumbai’s progress as a proof of concept that large-scale digitisation is achievable with focused implementation.

Looking Ahead

The digitisation drive is expected to continue beyond the initial deadline, especially in districts where progress has been minimal. Authorities believe that once completed, the initiative will significantly strengthen governance in the education sector by ensuring accurate data, smoother audits, and improved service delivery.

However, the sharp disparity between districts highlights the need for targeted interventions to prevent uneven implementation from undermining the broader objectives of the exercise.