VIJAYAWADA: Following the Supreme Court order that ruled out Aadhaar details as mandatory to appear for competitive examinations such as JEE and NEET has come as a shot in the arm for student community, the AP government is discussing whether or not to include Aadhaar details for student scholarships, EAMCET examination and for biometric attendance.
“We will be happy if the State government follows the SC ruling and asks for a government issued ID proof. Is mandating Aadhaar for scholarships and other government schemes necessary?” N Ramya, a student, asked.
B Narasimha Murthy, a private college principal said, “Earlier, students used to worry about possible errors in Aadhaar details, while applying for JEE and NEET. But from now on, the students can prepare for the examinations. It would be great, if the State government too lifts making Aadhaar mandatory thing for EAMCET and the like.”
In 2017, Central Board of Secondary Education had made Aadhaar mandatory for JEE (Main) or Advanced and NEET examinations. The candidates had to enter Aadhaar number, name, date of birth and gender for validation with UIDAI’s data at the time of filing application for JEE (Main). In case the particulars provided by them didn’t match with the UIDAI data, the applicants could not apply for JEE (Main). It was also necessary that they ensured their Aadhaar details matched with the school data records or make rounds of Aadhaar offices to correct the errors.
Speaking to TNIE, Technical Education Commissioner GS Panda Das said, “We haven’t received any instructions (about making Aadhaar mandatory or not) so far. It would be better if we continue taking Aadhaar details in order to sort out the real beneficiaries for scholarships and government schemes. For those students who don’t want government scholarships and other benefits can skip Aadhaar, while applying for examinations.” The National Testing Agency, which will conduct JEE and NEET examinations this year, has directed applicants to give valid government identity.