In an effort to effectively implement the Right to Education Act, the Maharashtra government has decided to link school students’ admission registration numbers to Aadhar card. According to a government resolution (GR), a campaign to prepare Aadhaar cards for school children will be undertaken from April 27 to June 26.
To execute the plan, the state government has asked the local administration to ensure that school children at the taluka and village levels are issued Aadhaar cards within 60 days and the UID numbers are linked to their school admission numbers.
The GR said that linking of students’ admission registration number to Adhaar card will facilitate tracking of the child in the education system. The government clarified this was being done to ensure the Right to Education Act (RTE) was implemented properly. It will help government verify whether students are enrolled in schools and parents can also be kept in the loop over their child’s educational progress.
Furthermore, block education officers have been asked to compile data relating the number of children with Aadhaar cards and forward it to respective district collectorates. The government has also asked the local administration to publicise the campaign.
The GR said the biggest challenge to ensure success of the RTE Act is to bring non-school going children in the education fold. It may be mentioned that the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 inserted Article 21-A in the Constitution of India to provide free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right in such a manner as the State may, by law, determine. Article 21-A and the RTE Act came into effect on 1 April 2010.
