The Aadhaar card has been made mandatory for students appearing for the Class X and Class XII examinations in February/March 2017.
Students will also have to fill in their Aadhaar card numbers in the exam application forms, according to a recent directive issued by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE).
These forms are generally filled around December every year. “We are intimating students and parents much in advance, in order to give them sufficient time to apply and get it,” said G.K. Mhanane, chairman of MSBSHSE.
Mr. Mhanane said for the last two years, students were being asked for Aadhaar card numbers, but it was not compulsory. “This year, we are making it mandatory since we feel we have given them sufficient time to get it. Aadhaar would help us detect bogus candidates who fraudulently appear in lieu of some other student. The number is important since we intend to link all students with Aadhaar card and track their educational progress,” said Mr. Mhanane.
Asked if students not having Aadhaar cards will be debarred from appearing for exams, he said: “We will not be able to debar students from appearing for exams, but we are insisting that we want all of them to have Aadhaar numbers.”
Advocate Rahul Narayan, who appeared in a case in the Supreme Court against Aadhaar said: “This is completely wrong on the part of the government since the SC has clearly stated that Aadhaar cannot be made compulsory to get any kind of service. I would imagine that some student would approach the court and get a stay against this order.”
He asked: “What about those students who do not wish to get Aadhaar card or are not able to get one due to some technical malfunction of the Aadhaar mechanism. After all biometric is not a foolproof system.”
But the teaching community seemed quite open to this idea. Seema Shaikh, principal of Pradnya Bodhini High School, Goregaon said: “Last year, when the Board had asked students for Aadhaar number in exam application forms, though it was not compulsory, it had us worried since many parents complained about not having Aadhaar numbers. We contacted the local corporator, who got an Aadhaar enrolment camp organised right in our school premises. Almost all our students and 95 per cent of our parents are thus enrolled for Aadhaar number. We were prepared for Aadhaar being made compulsory this year since we knew that such a decision was in the offing.”
Students will also have to fill in their Aadhaar card numbers in the exam application forms, according to a recent directive issued by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE).
These forms are generally filled around December every year. “We are intimating students and parents much in advance, in order to give them sufficient time to apply and get it,” said G.K. Mhanane, chairman of MSBSHSE.
Mr. Mhanane said for the last two years, students were being asked for Aadhaar card numbers, but it was not compulsory. “This year, we are making it mandatory since we feel we have given them sufficient time to get it. Aadhaar would help us detect bogus candidates who fraudulently appear in lieu of some other student. The number is important since we intend to link all students with Aadhaar card and track their educational progress,” said Mr. Mhanane.
Asked if students not having Aadhaar cards will be debarred from appearing for exams, he said: “We will not be able to debar students from appearing for exams, but we are insisting that we want all of them to have Aadhaar numbers.”
Advocate Rahul Narayan, who appeared in a case in the Supreme Court against Aadhaar said: “This is completely wrong on the part of the government since the SC has clearly stated that Aadhaar cannot be made compulsory to get any kind of service. I would imagine that some student would approach the court and get a stay against this order.”
He asked: “What about those students who do not wish to get Aadhaar card or are not able to get one due to some technical malfunction of the Aadhaar mechanism. After all biometric is not a foolproof system.”
But the teaching community seemed quite open to this idea. Seema Shaikh, principal of Pradnya Bodhini High School, Goregaon said: “Last year, when the Board had asked students for Aadhaar number in exam application forms, though it was not compulsory, it had us worried since many parents complained about not having Aadhaar numbers. We contacted the local corporator, who got an Aadhaar enrolment camp organised right in our school premises. Almost all our students and 95 per cent of our parents are thus enrolled for Aadhaar number. We were prepared for Aadhaar being made compulsory this year since we knew that such a decision was in the offing.”