Context:
APAAR ID for school students voluntary, but parents, activists worry about growing mandates
APAAR ID:
- Stands for – Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR)
- A 12-digit lifelong student ID.
- Initiative By – Ministry of Education
- Purpose – Unique student identification to track academic progress from pre-primary to higher education.
- Policy Basis – National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and National Credit and Qualifications Framework (NCrF).
Key Features of APAAR ID:
- Lifelong Student Record: Seamless access to academic data across institutions.
- Digital Integration: Links with Aadhaar and DigiLocker for authentication and secure storage.
- Credit Accumulation: Facilitates credit transfer under the Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) system.
- Academic Bank of Credit – Digital repository for students’ academic credits, marks, and personal records.
- Ease of Admission: Enables paperless admissions across schools, colleges, and universities.
- Prevention of Fraud: Reduces fraudulent academic claims by maintaining a verified digital record of achievements.
Concerns and Legal Aspects:
- Voluntary Enrolment: Education Ministry states APAAR enrolment is voluntary, but concerns persist about mandatory enforcement.
- Supreme Court Ruling: K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India states Aadhaar cannot be mandatory for access to basic education, raising legal concerns over APAAR ID.
Source: TH
Previous Year Question
Consider the following statements:
1. Aadhaar metadata cannot be stored for more than three months.
2. State cannot enter into any contract with private corporations for sharing of Aadhar data.
3. Aadhaar is mandatory for obtaining insurance products.
4. Aadhar is mandatory for getting benefits funded out of the Consolidated fund of India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[UPSC Civil Service Exam – 2020 Prelims]
(a) 1 and 4 only
(b) 2 and 4 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3 only
Answer: (b)
Explanation:
Statement 1 is not correct: A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court ruled that the Aadhaar metadata cannot be stored beyond six months.
Statement 3 is not correct: In the 2018 judgement, the Supreme Court held that Aadhar is not mandatory to purchase the insurance products, however, it can be voluntarily used for KYC of the insurance products.
