Aadhaar-linked govt school admission sees 16% drop

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 27

The enrolment in government schools from Class I to VIII in Haryana has decreased by 16 per cent this year. This is being attributed to a government’s decision to link admissions with the Aadhaar card as fake enrolment, if any, have been weeded out.

Enrolment in private schools, meanwhile, has increased by only 5 per cent.

The matter came up for discussion during a meeting of an executive committee of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, presided over by Chief Secretary DS Dhesi on Tuesday.

Alok Verma, State Project Director, Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad, said: “The enrolment has decreased from 19.58 lakh last year to 16.32 lakh this year.”

He admitted that duplicity or fake enrolment in the past could not be ruled out. “After linking Aadhaar numbers with admissions, transparency has been ensured.”

The government provides midday meal, uniforms, books, scholarships and some other material to children from Class I to VII in its schools.

And if the difference in enrolment figures is because of fake admissions last year, it might mean benefits provided by the government were also misappropriated at some level.

Verma, who looks after the affairs of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, refused to comment on the possible misuse of benefits and said the matter was not under his domain.

Keshani Anand Arora, Additional Chief Secretary (School Education), and RS Kharab, Director, Elementary Education, could not be contacted.

This year’s enrolment figure points out that on an average, 140 children have “dropped out” from each of 14,000 schools in the state.

Mewat and Palwal districts have registered the maximum drop in enrolment.

Additional Chief Secretaries of the Women and Child Development, Finance, Social Justice and Empowerment and School Education Departments; State Project Coordinator, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan , Director, NCERT; and all Additional Deputy Commissioners of Haryana were present at the meeting.

Numbers say it all 

19.58 lakh 
Last year’s enrolment 

16.32 lakh
This year’s enrolment

On an average, 140 children have “dropped out” from each of 14,000 schools in the state

Mewat and Palwal districts have registered the maximum drop in enrolment