Pune: Every student in Maharashtra will undergo a special screening through the Prashast App 2.0 as part of a statewide initiative to identify children with special educational needs at an early stage and ensure they receive support.The education department has directed all schools to complete the screening of 100% enrolled students by the first week of Sept. Directorate of primary education Mahesh Palkar said, “The exercise will detect difficulties related to hearing, vision, speech, learning and behaviour at an early stage so that students can receive appropriate educational support, counselling and expert intervention without delay.”Teachers, using the app, will observe students’ day-to-day behaviour, learning abilities, communication skills and overall development. Students who require assessment will be referred to special educators for detailed evaluation.Palkar said that the screening is not to label any child with a disability. “Instead, it is intended to identify developmental or learning challenges early and connect students with the necessary support services.”The state will organise training programmes for headmasters, teachers and special educators. The upgraded app has been integrated with the UDISE system, making students’ data management and the screening process more streamlined and transparent.The move follows directions issued at National Conference on Inclusive Education held in Jan 2026, where the Union education minister stressed the need for 100% screening of students during the 2026-27 academic year.As part of the rollout, headmasters’ login credentials will be activated this week while class-wise mapping of teachers will be in Aug.All zilla parishad schools and municipal education authorities have been told to activate institutional logins for the app on time, ensure all schools complete the screening by the first week of Sept, conduct capacity-building programmes for teachers and special educators, and regularly monitor the implementation of the initiative.
