CHENNAI: Having an Aadhaar card is now mandatory for all students in government and aided schools. A circular issued by the School Education department on Monday, has asked schools to ensure that all students have a unique identification and compulsorily link these details with the Educational Management Information System (EMIS)- a central data repository of the State.
The Aadhaar registration and collection of these details for EMIS is done by Samagra Shiksha, which is party funded by the Central Government. However, making Aadhaar mandatory for students is a violation of the Supreme Court ruling, said Raghu Godavar, a member of the Rethink Aadhaar campaign which aims to ensure that people are aware of their rights with respect to Aadhaar. “School admissions are neither a subsidy nor a benefit. It is part of a child’s fundamental right ensured by the Right to Education Act,” he said. Para 332 (c) of the Supreme Court’s Aadhaar judgment in 2018 states: “Insofar as the school admissions of children are concerned, requirement of Aadhaar would not be compulsory as it is neither a service nor subsidy.”
He also said that as far as children are concerned, it is illegal for schools to take them for Aadhaar registration or collect details without parental consent.
While the circular entails 17 guidelines on how schools and officials should register students for Aadhaar and link their information with EMIS, none of them speak about the necessity of parental consent.
Parental consent crucial, say experts
Activists say that as far as children are concerned, it is illegal for schools to take a student for Aadhaar registration or collect such details without parental consent. The government’s circular does not talk about parental consent
“It is in contempt of the law and a parent can take a school that is registering students for Aadhaar, to court. The very idea of consent is alien to children and until they are 18, they need parental consent for registering for Aadhaar,” says Raghu Godavar.
Earlier this year, the Aadhaar-Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) came into force in the State for teaching and non-teaching staff in government high and higher secondary schools.
Now, this has been extended to students as well. “The Samagra Shiksha has already been collecting Aadhaar information from students to link with EMIS. Many students were left out of the system. Therefore, if a student does not have Aadhaar, she can register now,” says a senior official from the School Education Department. The circular notes that if students do not have Aadhaar, the schools should help them get registered at no extra cost. Further the details of the registration should be uploaded on the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) website.
EMIS, which is a central data repository was launched to monitor the performance of education programmes offered by the State and distribute funds appropriately. “The system aims to prevent malpractice by in school which boosts the enrolment figures to get more funds and resources,” says the official.
The linking of Aadhaar details with the EMIS will be carried out at the Block Resource Centre by the Samagra Shiksha officials. The registration will take place only during school working hours.
“The head master should identify the students who don’t have Aadhaar number and take measures,” the circular said adding that students between the age group 5 to 15 years should register their signature, photo and retinal scan afresh by going through the process.