Delhi Govt to schools: Scan for kids of illegal migrants from Bangladesh

The circular said that all schools must “ensure that when admitting migrant children into schools, it is essential to follow a thorough careful process to ensure that all necessary documentation is submitted, verified and handled properly”.

The circular does not mention the documents a student or her parents must submit to prove they are staying in the country legally.

Deputy Directors of Education (district and zones) have also been asked to submit weekly reports regarding all cases where the citizenship status of a student is not verified.

While the Delhi government did not respond to questions from The Indian Express, Chief Minister Atishi posted on X a photo of the order alongside a 2022 post by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri about EWS flats being given to Rohingya migrants. In her post, she said, “On one side are BJP leaders, who bring Rohingya to Delhi after making them cross the border from Bangladesh and give them EWS flats and facilities meant for Delhiites. On the other hand, there is the Aam Aadmi Party government of Delhi which is taking every possible step to ensure that the Rohingya do not get the rights of Delhiites.”

“Today, the Education Department of the Delhi Government has passed a strict order that no Rohingya should be given admission in the government schools of Delhi. We will not let the rights of the people of Delhi be taken away,” she said.

Incidentally, Puri had clarified later that no Rohingya migrant was given a house in Delhi. The Ministry of Home Affairs had made its position clear after the post and said that the matter of their deportation had been taken up with the “country concerned”.

Former Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal also took to X. “We will not allow BJP to settle Rohingya in Delhi under any circumstances. We will not allow them to give the flats, employment and facilities of the poor of Delhi to the Rohingya under any circumstance,” he posted.

On Friday, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi had passed a similar order to carry out drives to “identify illegal Bangladeshi migrant children in schools”.

Earlier this month, LG V K Saxena had instructed the Chief Secretary and Police Commissioner to launch a drive to identify and take action against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in Delhi. Since then, Delhi Police has been carrying out a drive across slums, footpaths and unauthorised colonies of the national capital.

According to the vice-principal of the Government Girls Senior Secondary School in Karawal Nagar, Bhumika Sharma, they have been briefed about the drive. “Education department officials informed our school principal to be very vigilant during the admission process from the academic session 2025-26. Aadhaar card of parents or the child and voter ID card of any one parent should be the main documents used to verify the student’s identity, the principal has been told,” Sharma said. “We have been following the practice of accepting affidavits if there is any issue with proof for date of birth. After the strict directions, we cannot depend on such documents and have to ask for permanent address proofs such as Aadhaar card.”

Y P Purang, former Director of Education, said, “According to the RTE Act, no child can be denied admission whatsoever… How can a school detect a fake Aadhaar card which is so common these days? It should be the job of the police to identify illegal immigrants… Till Class 8 no child can be denied admission.”