Why in news?

• The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has asserted that schools cannot make Aadhaar, the 12-digit biometric identifier a pre-condition for student admission.
• UIDAI warned that doing so will be against the recent order of the Supreme Court.

Highlights:

• UIDAI cleared that asking for Aadhaar cards for admissions is not as per the provisions of law and doing so will be against the recent order of the Supreme Court.
• However, there have been reports of certain schools insisting on Aadhaar as one of the documents required for student admission.
• The Aadhaar issuing body said that it is aware of such reports and has asked all the schools to ensure that no child is denied admission for not having the identification card.
• UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey said that in fact, schools should admit children without Aadhaar and ensure that children are given Aadhaar once they are in schools by arranging special camps for them.
• UIDAI cleared that despite this, should certain schools continue to insist on Aadhar then, it would clearly be seen as a case of contempt of court.
• The word of caution from UIDAI comes at a time when admissions to the nursery and entry-level classes have just begun in over 1,500 private schools in Delhi.