IIIT Alumni Help Reduce School Dropouts
Web-based attendance management tool allows educators to monitor student participation

Hyderabad: A student-tracking system developed by two IIIT-Hyderabad (IIIT-H) alumni is helping a non-profit in Madhya Pradesh reduce school dropouts and improve learning outcomes in rural communities.
Chandan Shrivastava and Nikhil Agrawal, who interned at Eklavya while pursuing their BTech degrees, created a web-based attendance management tool that allows educators to monitor student participation across multiple learning centres. The initiative is aimed at addressing a major challenge in rural education — ensuring that children stay in school.
Eklavya, a Bhopal-based non-profit, has been working since the 1980s to make education accessible in underserved areas. It runs Shiksha Protsahan Kendras, where local youth conduct learning sessions, and Chakmak Clubs, which are student-run libraries that promote reading.
While the programmes have helped children continue learning outside formal schools, the organisation struggled with tracking attendance and engagement levels.
Earlier, student attendance was manually recorded in registers and spreadsheets, a process that took up valuable teaching time. The IIIT-H students’ new web-based tool automates this process, providing real-time data on attendance at individual, centre, district, and state levels.
The system flags students at risk of dropping out, enabling timely intervention. “If a student’s attendance falls below a set threshold, it gets highlighted, allowing the team to take action,” said Agrawal.
The tool was designed to be easy to use, requiring only a web link to log attendance — eliminating the need for additional software or hardware. “Facilitators can access it from any basic smartphone,” said Shrivastava. The system also allows gender-based tracking and other analytical insights to improve programme effectiveness.
Beyond attendance tracking, the duo helped secure Eklavya’s digital resources by developing an automatic backup system for its website, which offers free access to children’s books and educational materials. “Our site has faced multiple hacking attempts, leading to data loss. The new backup system ensures we can recover files instantly,” said Tultul Biswas, Eklavya’ s director.
They also worked on optimising Eklavya’s online bookstore, resolving technical issues with its Shopify platform, and exploring ways to leverage Google’s NGO grants for digital outreach and fundraising.
Even after completing their internship, Shrivastava and Agrawal have remained involved with Eklavya. One of their ongoing projects is automating the magazine subscription system for publications like Chakmak, Sandarbh, and Srote.
The new system will integrate online orders from Amazon, Shopify, and the organisation’s website, streamlining subscription tracking and dispatch. Their contributions extend beyond technology. According to Biswas, the alumni have also donated a significant amount to support Eklavya’s initiatives.
“They didn’t just bring their technical skills; they developed a deep connection to the cause,” she said.
Now working at Google and Oracle, the two engineers continue to support the mission, showing how a short-term internship can evolve into long-term social impact.