UIDAI cautions private schools on making Aadhaar mandatory for admission

UIDAI has recently informed the school administrations that they cannot make the 12-digital Aadhaar number mandatory for admission of students.

Aadhaar is only mandatory for filing income tax returns and allotment of PAN. (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the Aadhaar issuing body, has recently informed the school administrations that they cannot make the 12-digital Aadhaar number mandatory for admission of students and warned that doing so will be against the recent directive of the Supreme Court of India. The announcement from the Aadhaar issuing body came in the backdrop of the start of admission process in Nursery and entry-level classes in over 1,500 private schools in the national capital. As per media reports, several schools are insisting parents to submit their Aadhaar as one of the documents required for admissions. Speaking about the same with news agency PTI, UIDAI chief Ajay Bhushan Pandey has said that the department is aware about the fact that some private schools are demanding Aadhaar cards for admission of students. "This is not right. This is not as per the provisions of law...school admission and other facility to children cannot be made conditional to production of Aadhaar,” Pandey told the news agency. The UIDAI has also warned the school administration to make sure that none of the students are denied admission for not providing Aadhaar as admission document. “In fact, schools should admit children without Aadhaar and ensure that children are given Aadhaar once they are in schools by arranging special camps for them,” Pandey said. The Supreme Court, in September this year, upheld the constitutional validity of Aadhaar and stated that it would remain mandatory for filing income tax returns and allotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN). However, the top court also mentioned that the 12-digital unique identification number will not be mandatory for opening bank accounts, mobile connections and school admissions. The apex court’s directive also stated that Aadhaar would not be mandatory for school admissions, as also for the examinations conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE), National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for medical entrance and the University Grants Commission (UGC). (With agency inputs)