The Maharashtra primary education directorate is deferring the Right to Education (RTE) admissions in the state as the department is still waiting for clarity over the application procedure, which may change due to the government's new mandate of producing Aadhaar card by benficiaries for all government schemes, says a report by Times of India. The RTE Act guarantees 25 percent reservation to children from socially and economically disadvantaged communities in private, unaided schools. Since it is a government scheme, the department chief said, Aadhaar will be required for RTE admissions, too. The Maharashtra government had directed all state departments to see to it that all government schemes are linked to Aadhaar. After the phase of school registrations, the form-filling process was to begin from Monday, which is now postponed amid growing uncertainties about availability of Aadhaar. Why it matters: The mandatory use of Aadhaar for RTE will create more obstacles for students belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, minority and other economically weaker sections. This comes at a time when private schools are already unwilling to enroll RTE students due to issues related to reimbursements. Moreover, the Supreme Court had previously declared that the use of Aadhaar is non-mandatory for education of those in the age group of 6-14 years. Whether the Maharashtra government is facilitating Aadhaar enrolment for children is unclear, but it is well documented that Aadhaar mandate has put many children at the risk of being excluded from formal education in the past. This is in…
