Sigh Of Relief For Parents: After SC Verdict On Aadhaar, UIDAI Says Not Mandatory For School Admissions

Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has informed schools that Aadhaar will not be required for admissions in schools, Deccan Chronicle has reported. This comes after the recent Supreme Court (SC) verdict which ruled that Aadhaar cannot be demanded for school admissions, bank accounts and new mobile connections.

UIDAI chief executive officer (CEO) Ajay Bhushan Pandey has clarified that making Aadhaar mandatory for school admissions is against the law and no student should be denied admission on that basis. Hyderabad parents association told the paper that few of the parents have been facing this issue as schools are demanding Aadhaar card for new admissions as well.

The SC verdict had also emphasised that Aadhaar would not be mandatory for the examinations conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE), National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for medical entrance and the University Grants Commission (UGC).

However, SC had ruled that Aadhaar requirement would remain valid for filing of Income Tax (IT) returns, allotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN) and welfare schemes.

Earlier in October, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has been directed by the Department of Telecom (DOT) to not disconnect services of the consumers during the document changing process. COAI includes members like Indian telecom giants Airtel, Vodafone Idea, Reliance Jio etc.