- Full form
- Aim
- Generate an independent, permanently valid academic ID as part of the “One Nation, One Student ID” initiative.
- Preserve student academic achievements for smoother inter institution transfers and record verification.
- Aadhaar Integration
- Linked to Aadhaar and retained in Digi Locker.
- It is generated through the UDISE+ portal, which is responsible for educational statistics of schools, teachers, and students.
- The Role of APAAR in NEP 2020
- Being introduced as part of reforms in educational data, so as to strive towards evidence based policymaking and analysis.
- The Education Ministry is actively pursuing full saturation in CBSE affiliated institutions.
APAAR: Is It Mandatory?
- Status
- It is voluntary (confirmed as such by the Union government in Parliament in December 2024).
- Confusion
- Circulars and FAQs from CBSE and the government are not sufficiently clarifying the voluntary nature of the ID system.
- Many schools and state authorities (e.g. in Uttar Pradesh) are putting pressure on parents and schools to ensure 100% enrolment.
- Parents usually receive insufficient and/or confusing wordings concerning their right of opting out.
Concerns over Data Security
- Transparency issues
- IFF’s attempts at obtaining crucial policy documents via RTI were met with multiple transfers back and forth and no genuine responses.
- Extent of data collection
- Data collection extends beyond academic certificates and grades into concerning areas involving unnecessary and excessive data being collected about minors.
- Legal Risks
- Collection of minors’ personal data on a massive scale, without any legislative authority, could infringe on constitutional guarantees.
- It further prohibits the tracking or behavioral observations of children as per Section 9(3) of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023.
- Existence of APIs could mean exposure to third parties without sufficient safeguards, increasing the chances of misuse.
- Administrative Pressure
- Teachers say that the same data is being entered twice through different systems like APAAR and UDISE+, creating drudgery and extra load.
How Is an APAAR ID Generated?
- Methodology
- Basic demographic details of students are verified by the schools.
- A consent form shall be filled in and signed by the parents.
- An ID will be generated after the verification by the school concerned.
- General issues
- Errors requiring correction and resubmission can result from discrepancies between names of school records and identity documents.
How to Opt out?
- Opt out procedures
- Parents opt out requests addressed to schools using templates provided by the Software Freedom Law Centre(SFLC).
- Ground reality
- In practice, states like Uttar Pradesh have issued warnings to certain schools facing threats of derecognition on grounds of insufficient enrolment.
- On the ground, authorities are intensifying pressure on parents and schools to comply.
- Some parents managed to successfully opt out.
Key Concerns Moving Forward
- Lack of legal clarity and excessive push for compliance undermining voluntariness.
- Risks of privacy violations and data misuse due to unclear safeguards.
- Duplication of data collection creating administrative inefficiencies.
- Need for stronger legal frameworks, transparency, and parent-friendly communication.
Source: TH
