Why This FAQ Is Different

Most UDISE+ FAQ pages list questions that nobody actually asks — "What is the official website?" — and answer them with information that is already on the portal homepage. Authors write them to fill space, not to help.

This page covers the questions that school headmasters, data entry operators, and teachers actually search for — the questions that come up when something is going wrong in the middle of data entry, when the BRC has sent data back, or when the deadline is three days away and a critical section is not cooperating.

We group questions by the stage of data entry where they most commonly occur.

Questions About the September 30 Reference Date

Q: If our school has a mid-year intake (January admissions), does the system count them?
The system counts only students enrolled on or before September 30, 2026. The system would count January admissions that happened in January 2026 (academic year 2025-26) if they were still enrolled in September 2026 in the current class. January admissions from January 2027 are part of the 2026-27 academic year but after the reference date — the system does not count them in the 2026-27 UDISE+ data.

Q: A classroom was under construction on September 30 but finished in October. Do we count it?
No. The classroom must be complete and usable as of September 30 to be counted. If it was "under construction" on that date, enter it under "Under Construction" or do not count it in the usable classroom total. Include it in next year's data when it is fully functional for the entire year.

Q: One of our teachers was on maternity leave on September 30 — do they still count as a teacher?
Yes. A teacher on approved leave (maternity, medical, or other sanctioned leave) is still an active employee as of September 30. You should count them in the Teacher Module. Update their training details for whatever training they attended before the leave. Leave status does not remove them from the active teacher count.

Questions About Enrollment and Student Count

Q: Should I count the total enrolled or only those who came to school on September 30?
Count all enrolled students — not just those who attended on September 30. Enrollment means students who are registered at the school and have not been officially discharged (dropout or transfer). Absent students are still enrolled. Do not count only students whom you marked as dropout, transferred out, or otherwise discharged before September 30.

Q: We have students whose parents live here but the family moved temporarily — they are still on our rolls. Count them?
Yes, count them if they are still formally enrolled at your school and have not joined another school. If they have effectively shifted permanently, update their status to "Transfer Out" or "Left" in SDMS.

Q: The School Profile enrollment count and SDMS count are different — which one is the official figure?
Both must match. School Profile has aggregate counts (total per class) and SDMS has individual records. The SDMS count is built from individual data, so it is more granular and auditable. If they differ, the SDMS data is the more reliable figure. Update School Profile enrollment to match SDMS before submitting.

Questions About Data Correction After Submission

Q: We submitted data with wrong enrollment numbers. BRC has the data but has not yet certified it. Can we still fix it?
Yes. Contact the Block MIS Coordinator and request data unlock. Once they unlock the module, you can edit the enrollment numbers and resubmit. BRCs routinely unlock data for corrections before they certify — this is a normal part of the process. Do not wait passively for the BRC to reject and send back — call them proactively.

Q: A teacher joined the school in August 2026 but we forgot to add them before data submission. What now?
Contact BRC to unlock the Teacher Module. Add the new teacher's data with their joining date (August 2026) and generate their PEN. Resubmit. You must include a teacher who was employed as of September 30 in the Teacher Module — omission will create a discrepancy if the department cross-checks their salary records against UDISE+ data.

Questions About Block and District Certification

Q: Our BRC rejected data but did not explain why. Can we see the rejection reason in the portal?
Some state portals show a "Remarks" or "Rejection Reason" field that the BRC fills when returning data. Check the School Dashboard for any remarks field. If it is empty, call the BRC directly. Do not resubmit without understanding what was wrong — the same error will cause a second rejection.

Q: How long does district certification take after BRC approves?
This varies widely by district. In well-staffed districts, certification happens within 1-2 weeks of BRC approval. In districts with large numbers of schools or staffing issues, it can take 4-6 weeks. If it has been more than 3 weeks after BRC approval with no district certification, the BRC can follow up with the District MIS Officer on behalf of the school.

Questions About APAAR ID During Data Entry

Q: We have 400 students. Can we submit data first and generate APAAR IDs later?
You can save GP and EP data without APAAR IDs and submit — but the block level will block certification until all students have APAAR IDs. Most BRCs will not approve a school's SDMS data if there are more than a handful of students without APAAR. Complete APAAR ID generation before submitting for certification, or submit with a documented list of students pending Aadhaar enrollment for your BRC's information.

Q: Is there a way to do bulk APAAR ID generation — all students at once?
There is no official bulk APAAR generation feature in SDMS. Each student requires individual Aadhaar authentication and APAAR generation. However, some states have released Excel-based upload utilities for schools with large pending backlogs — check with your Block MIS Coordinator whether your state has this option. If not, the only way is student by student, which is why schools with 400+ students need to start weeks before the deadline.

Questions About Deadlines and Late Submission

Q: What actually happens if we miss the submission deadline — are there penalties?
Missing the deadline means the government does not include your school's data in the national UDISE+ dataset for that year. This has direct consequences: the government does not count the school when calculating grants for the next year, they may not update teacher deployment, and the school may not receive its Composite School Grant on time. There are no financial penalties on the school directly, but the resource loss is significant.

Q: If the UDISE+ server is down during the deadline — will the Ministry extend the deadline?
When the national or state servers experience extended downtime during a deadline period, the Ministry of Education or state department typically issues a deadline extension circular. Save this circular as a document. It is your official protection if you could not submit data due to verified server failure. Contact your BRC to check if the Ministry has granted any extension before the deadline passes.

Written By

Pooja Sharma

Teacher & Contributor 🎓 BSc. (Physics), MSc. (Physics) and BEd.

Pooja Sharma is a qualified physics graduate (BSc, MSc) and certified teacher (BEd). As an active educator and contributor, she simplifies complex school portal processes, student registrations, and educational data entry tasks for academic administrators.