Mumbai: Have Aadhaar card issues kept over a lakh students out of school?

Students are dropped off to school at Shakuntala Kantilal Ishwarlal Jain High School, Marine Drive. File Pic/Satej Shinde

While the state government is striving to ensure education reaches every last child, these figures present a concerning picture. The latest data from the U-DISE Plus has shown that 1,19,000 students across the state have been recorded as ‘out-of-school' over the past year. The data includes 1,542 school student deaths and 1,18,997 students who are out of school.

The Department of School Education has, however, attributed the rise in out-of-school students to discrepancies in Aadhaar card registration. The department has clarified that issues such as name changes or mismatches in the date of birth during the Aadhaar verification process have resulted in students being incorrectly listed as out-of-school. This problem is even more prevalent in remote districts where many people do not possess Aadhaar cards.

Verification needed

Maharashtra Prathamik Shikshan Parishad (Maharashtra Primary Education Council) State Project Coordinator and Director Sameer Sawant said that the verification of lists is still ongoing. He stated that education department officials and school teachers are independently conducting these verifications to ensure accuracy.

"Aadhaar registration for students has been ongoing for two years. If there is a name change or a mismatch in the date of birth, Aadhaar verification does not happen, resulting in such students being listed as out of school. The number of out-of-school students is high as in many districts there have been issues in Aadhar registration. Previously, Aadhaar registration was done with the principal's signature. Now, one of the parents must have an Aadhaar card. In remote districts like Palghar, many people do not have Aadhaar cards, leading to many students being listed as out of school. Many students still do not have a UID number, while there has been a mismatch in names or parents' names etc. The verification of the data is still going on. As soon as the verification is complete the number will come down. We are working on this," Sawant told mid-day.

Impact across districts

Pune district leads in the number of out-of-school students, with 19,363 students no longer on the school rolls. Following Pune is Mumbai Suburban with 13,944 students and Thane with 9,532 students. Thane district reported the highest number of student deaths in the state last academic year, with 245 deaths.

A survey conducted in 2023 by the State School Education Department identified a total of 1,528 out-of-school children in the Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, and Raigad districts. Educationists and activists have raised concerns, stating that there is a high chance the number of out-of-school students is under-reported. The drive, conducted from August 17 to August 31, 2023, aimed to trace out-of-school, migrant, and non-regular school students in the state. The campaign targeted children between the ages of 3 and 18.

Data revelations

According to data from the Deputy Director of School Education's office, of the 1,528 out-of-school children found in the four districts, the highest number was in Palghar district, with a total of 928 students, 676 of whom are from Dahanu taluka. This was followed by the Thane Zilla Parishad region, where 380 out-of-school students were reported. In Mumbai and Raigad ZP, a total of 182 and 38 out-of-school students were reported, respectively. Many educational activists allege that the number of out-of-school students mentioned in the 2023 survey by the State School Education Department was under-reported.

An education activist said, "In 2015, the state government claimed that it found nearly 81,000 out-of-school children following a survey. However, the National Survey on Estimation of Out-of-School Children 2014-15 report, released by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), revealed that the state had nearly 1.45 lakh such children. Has the state government managed to enroll all these students? Do they have a report or data on this? Also, how can a survey conducted in just 15 days be accurate? I don't think it is possible to get accurate data on out-of-school students in just 15 days.

Back in 2021, data compiled during a State School Education Department-organised survey revealed that over 25,000 students in Maharashtra had either never gone to school or had been out of school due to their inability to attend classes. Of these 25,000 students, 10,820 (43 per ecnt) were reported to be from Mumbai city and suburbs. And then the number suddenly dropped to 182 within two years. I would appeal to the State School Education Department to put the data, along with some case studies of out-of-school students enrolled in schools, in the public domain."

He added, "Hence, I feel the figure presented by the State School Education Department in 2023 is under-reported. This time, despite the department saying the data has not been verified, I think after verification, the number should come down to 75,000-80,000, if they don't under-report it."