A pilot project in 10 schools across Assam's Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) to maintain a database of health and academic performance of students is expected to transform the education scenario in the State and the region beyond.

The BTR government introduced the One-Student-One-File (OSOF) Mission in these schools, covering 1,163 students, to build a centralised, data-driven education management system. The project entails assigning a file for each student from Class 1 to Class 10, updating his or her academic performance, attendance, extracurricular activities, and health status.

Other indicators, such as the study atmosphere at home and the economic condition of a child's family, are also fed into the database.

"This initiative represents a paradigm shift in monitoring, evaluating, and supporting the learning journey of every student. It is rooted in the belief that sustained student development requires more than academic scores; it demands attention to attendance, co-curricular activities, creative expression, personal growth, and health indicators -- all captured systematically and meaningfully," Nironjon Islary, the Education specialist at the BTR Development Fellowship Secretariat in western Assam's Kokrajhar said.

"The mission intends to let every student pursue and develop expertise in a subject, sports discipline, or skill of his or her liking. If a student is good in, say, football and is not interested in academics, we can condition him or her at a later stage to get into a football academy. Similarly, we can assess the trajectory of a child's performance and guide him or her into fine arts, if the inclination is strong," he told The Hindu.

Mr Islary said that the student profiles, maintained consistently throughout the academic year, provide teachers, school heads, and administrators with a richer understanding of each learner, thereby enabling more inclusive and personalised educational strategies. The mission is also designed to ensure cultural and linguistic inclusivity by piloting the programme across schools with Bodo, Assamese, and Bengali mediums of instruction.

By developing a standardised and centralised database, the OSOF system is expected to empower educators and policymakers to base interventions on actual student data rather than general assumptions.

"The analysis of longitudinal student records will help track learning outcomes, identify areas requiring targeted interventions, and assess the impact of policies over time. With aggregated data at school, block, and district levels, educational planning can become far more responsive and strategic, focusing on students' real-time needs," the mission statement read.

Community involvement

According to the BTR's education planners, the strength of the OSOF Mission lies in active participation from teachers, parents, community members, and administrators who contribute to and benefit from transparent access to student progress.

Through regular documentation of health records, extracurricular certifications, self-assessment forms, and behavioural observations, the system "not only enhances accountability but also builds a culture of shared responsibility in the education ecosystem".

Three years before the OSOF Mission, the BTR government launched the community-driven Bodoland School Adoption Programme. Some 780 individuals came forward to adopt schools, providing financial aid, materials, and voluntary services (BSAP), transforming government schools into vibrant centres of learning.

The selected adopters were given a school-lower, upper primary, high, or higher secondary-mostly located in the vicinity of their workplace and residence.

The focus of the BSAP was on upgrading school infrastructure, including classrooms, libraries, and sanitation facilities, and providing a conducive learning environment for students. The adoption system entails fostering critical thinking and creativity among the students by involving local communities, parents, and stakeholders.

A perk for adopters is to be recognised as adoption champions through financial and material contributions and the impact of their involvement with their adopted schools.

Assam's BTR maintains students' health, academic history