From next academic session, Aadhaar must for EWS admissions at Delhi’s private schools

Under the provisions of the Right to Education Act, private schools are required to reserve 25% of seats in their entry-level classes for admission of students from these categories. The admissions are conducted by the Directorate of Education (DoE) through an online application process, following which seats are allotted through a centralised draw of lots.

So far, it has been optional for candidates to provide Aadhaar card details during online applications. Now, the DoE has stated that the Aadhaar card is a “must” for a “fair, transparent, uniform and hassle-free admission process”.

The rationale provided by the DoE for the move is applicants filing multiple applications by fudging personal details to increase the probability of their selection in the computerised draw of lots. According to education department officials, the department noticed that some applicants got admissions to multiple schools because of this manipulation.

“The requirement of production of original Aadhaar card at the time of verification of the details filled in the application form before school authorities does not infringe/affect the right of the applicant rather it aims to protect the right of deserving, an eligible candidate under the abovesaid category to avail the abovesaid beneficial scheme of admission and will be in the interest of the society at the large,” states a circular passing this mandate issued by Director of Education Himanshu Gupta.

The circular also states that the Aadhaar card details collected in the application form will “only be minimal and limited to details contained therein”, and that personal details such as biometric information will not be stored and shared with any agency.

On September 5, 2018, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued a circular disallowing denial of admission in schools for want of an Aadhaar card. “Some instances have come to our notice that few schools are denying admission to children for want of Aadhar. Such denials are invalid and not permitted under the law,” it had stated.

“The Right To Education Act stated that removing barriers to school admission is a duty of the state but this is creating a barrier for children, like for those who live in slum areas and do not have the card. Previous attempts to introduce Aadhaar requirements for government school admissions have been quashed,” said Khagesh Jha, an advocate and RTE activist.