Kerala Education Minister signals rethink on Aadhaar rule in school admissions

Key points

• Kerala Minister for Education N.
• Samsudheen has said that the mandatory Aadhaar card-based headcount of students on the sixth working day of every academic year, which has led to denial of admission especially for migrant children, will be revisited and alternative measures explored.
• He was responding to a report in The Hindu on how many migrant children in Ernakulam district were denied admission for want of Aadhaar cards at the start of this academic year.
• Of the 126 migrant children identified by the Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development (CMID), mostly from Assam and West Bengal and settled in migrant-dense areas such as Perumbavur, Muvattupuzha, and Kothamangalam, 88 were denied admission in this manner.
• Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Samsudheen said similar incidents had come to the notice of the Education department from other districts as well.