BHUBANESWAR: Schools cannot deny enrolment of children for want of Aadhaar card, the state government said on Tuesday. School and Mass Education (SME) secretary Aswathy S in a letter to all district education officers (DEOs) stated that children must be allowed enrolment in schools with or without an Aadhaar card.
“The department had earlier stated that the admission of students should be hassle-free and smooth and in no case, parents shall face inconvenience during the admission of their children. However, it has come to notice that some school headmasters are insisting parents to submit Aadhaar card for admission of their children in different classes. The children must be allowed to take admission in schools with or without Aadhaar card,” the SME secretary wrote in her letter.
Stating that Aadhaar is not a mandatory pre-requisite for admission, she said students may be facilitated for obtaining Aadhaar card by coordinating with different offices of the district after their admission process is over.The DEOs have been asked to communicate the same to the headmasters of all schools across the state for smooth admission of children in the 2023-24 academic session.
Notably, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had also clarified earlier that as per the circular issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India in 2018, children may not be deprived/denied their due benefits or rights for want of Aadhaar. “No child should be denied admission and other facilities for lack of Aadhaar,” Pradhan had stated.