Hyderabad: Schools flout Aadhaar Act, feed pupil's data

Hyderabad: The Aadhaar and personal details of 9.07 crore minor students out of the total registered base of 21.64 crore has been fed into a central database as part of a child tracking system.

The Aadhaar details are being harvested from schools across the country which have been collecting the details of students to implement their performance review system. The Aadhaar identification information is being seeded into the central database in violation of Section 8 of the Aadhaar Act.

Every state has a separate Unified District Information System for Education (U-DISE) portal. Schools were informed to collect data of students from Classes 1 to 12 and compile it by April 25. The idea was to create a student data management information system (SDMIS) which will be used to track details of every student for the Child Tracking System (CTS) and keep a record of all documents digitally. The schools are collecting information on academic performance, family details, examination, results, scholarship, achievement, attendance, disability, personal details and general information of every student. The SDMIS will be under the U-DISE.

This initiative has been introduced to keep a record of the academic journey of every student studying in around 15 lakh government and private schools nationwide. Students will be tracked with the help of their Aadhaar number.

This programme is a part of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan where the Centre aims to provide education to all students and improve quality of education.
Mr Anivar Aravind, a volunteer with ‘Destroy Aadhaar’ said, “As per the student.udise.in portal, the total number of students registered till June 25 was 21,64,76,390. Those who have registered with Aadhaar are 9,07,22,617. The process for collection of Aadhaar data does not follow Sections 8 or 29 of the Aadhaar Act.”

He said the Aadhaar details of nine crore children collected by schools as part of the school performance report system is being seeded into the central database without any consent.

Another anti-Aadhaar volunteer, Mr Azad Mallik, said, “Ever state has a dedicated student data hub. The Aadhaar enabled DISE is deployed with a concept adopted by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). What will the department do with information security and privacy of children?”