Odisha School Admission: The state government has declared that an 'Aadhaar card is neither compulsory nor a requirement for admission in any school' in the state. In his letter to all district education officers, Aswathy S, Secretary of State School and Mass Education Department of Odisha said that 'children must be allowed to apply for admission in schools whether they have an Aadhaar card or not'.
The letter reads, "It was instructed earlier 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.” After being admitted, students should be helped in getting an Aadhaar card by liaising with different departments of the district, it said.
The secretary further asked the district education officers to communicate and notify all the headmasters and head mistresses of the school in order to facilitate the admission of students, and that any irregularity would be treated with the utmost seriousness.
Centre Clarifies: Aadhaar Not Mandatory For School Admissions
A few days back, the Centre also clarified that no child will be turned away from a school on the ground that they do not have an Aadhaar card. The Centre reiterates its earlier statements to this effect from 2018 and 2021, amid reports that some schools are still insisting on using Aadhaar for admissions.
In response to a query in the Lok Sabha, Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Education, said "Education is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution and majority of the schools come under the purview of the respective State and UT Governments. As per the circular dated 05.09.2018 issued by Unique Identification Authority of India, children may not be deprived/denied of their due benefits or rights for want of Aadhaar. No child should be denied admission and other facilities for lack of Aadhaar."
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