Kolkata: The state school education department is working on completing Aadhaar enrolment for students between 5 years and 15 years. Over 16 lakh students who are yet to be covered under this system are the target group so that they will not miss out on social schemes to which they are entitled.
The department is going to take a fresh initiative for the Aadhaar enrolment and mandatory biometric update of individuals between the ages of 5 and 15 years. This fresh drive will start in two districts—South 24 Parganas and South Dinajpur in the first week of April, followed by other districts during the last week of April and the first week of May. This move was taken following a request from the Unique Identification Authority of India.
The higher officials of the education department stated that Aadhaar enrolment is now mandatory for students to avail themselves of social schemes to which they are entitled. The Aadhaar enrolment campaign started in Sept 2023. Now, over 300 Aadhaar Enrolment Kendras (AEK) are functional across the districts where state school teachers and officials are involved in making this enrolment. A department official said, "We want students to get the benefit of social schemes like Kanyashree and Taruner Swapna, where money is transferred directly to the bank. Aadhaar enrolment is mandatory not only for availing schemes, but also for appearing in entrance tests."
Aadhaar enrolment for students started as a pilot project along with the central govt, and the directorate of school education was entrusted with the task of carrying forward the Aadhaar enrolment of the students.
In 2024, over 13 lakh students were yet to be covered, which went up to 16.6 lakh this year since the new academic session started in Jan. "This is an ongoing process because a section comes under the school education system while a section passes out every year. We saw there is reluctance among students and parents for Aadhaar enrolment while it's the most important document now. Schools are the best place to build up awareness among students. Though it's an additional duty, a section of teachers have been involved in the enrolment. Even students of private schools can get enrolled at the nearest AEKs if they want," a school education department official said.
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