Kozhikode: Allegations are mounting over the mandatory requirement of Aadhaar for students to be included in the government's enrollment list, even after securing school admission — a move critics say undermines the Right to Education. The issue worsened after the government refused to accept birth certificates as valid proof of age for students without Aadhaar.

As of now, students registered in the ‘Sampoorna’ portal on the sixth working day will be included in the Government's official records. This data will then be synced with the ‘Samanwaya’ portal. According to Government guidelines, no further updates will be accepted after this point. The ‘Sampoorna’ portal must include the student’s details—such as date of birth—strictly as per the Aadhaar record.

The Government has instructed that students without an Aadhaar must obtain one within six working days. However, this timeline is considered impractical. While the guidelines state that no student should be denied the Right to Education due to the absence of an Aadhaar card, the standing order remains unchanged: any student without Aadhaar by the sixth working day will not be included in the official list. Even if the Aadhaar is generated later, applications will not be accepted under any circumstances.

These take away the Right to Education for students. The birth certificate can be obtained through K-Smart, and one can verify its validity and authenticity. The Supreme Court has even clarified that the Aadhaar Card is not the authentic document to verify the Date of Birth. The Juvenile Justice Act also sticks to this claim.

The Unique Identification Authority of India, which issues Aadhaar cards, also has confirmed this. Yet this adamant nature of the State Government in insisting Aadhaar Card for admission is a crisis.