Several migrant children fail to get school admission due to lack of Aadhaar cards

As Pravesanotsavam was celebrated with overmuch fanfare crossed Kerala connected Monday with thousands of children being ushered into the satellite of knowledge, astatine slightest 88 migrant children successful Ernakulam district, aged betwixt 5 and 14 years, were denied admittance to schools for assorted reasons, chiefly the lack of Aadhaar cards.

The Kochi-based Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development (CMID) had mapped 126 migrant children, who had ne'er been to schools before, for enrolment during this world year. Most of them were from Assam and West Bengal, settled mostly successful known migrant idiosyncratic hubs specified arsenic Perumbavoor, Muvattupuzha, and Kothamangalam. However, lone 38 of the children could beryllium enrolled successful schools.

“Aadhaar cards person been made mandatory for the enrolment of students done the Sampoorna portal, based connected the mandatory sixth-day headcount, and for students to beryllium eligible for benefits specified arsenic escaped uniforms, textbooks, and midday meals. More importantly, lone specified students are counted for determining the fig of divisions, which is captious to teachers’ vacancies successful schools. At slightest 2 authorities schools refused to enrol students lacking Aadhaar cards, contempt the Right to Education (RTE) Act mandating escaped and compulsory acquisition up to the property of 14,” said Benoy Peter, enforcement director, CMID.

With migrant workers acceptable to instrumentality successful ample numbers from Assam and West Bengal aft Bakrid and the Assembly elections, much children look the imaginable of being denied their close to education. Previously, schools were empowered to put Aadhaar enrolment for students, which is nary longer the case.

“Jyothi, a programme launched past twelvemonth by the erstwhile Left Democratic Front (LDF) authorities to integrate migrant children into the nationalist acquisition system, seems inactive this time. Accessibility to schools, deficiency of accusation astir schools successful their neighbourhood, and ignorance among migrant parents astir the value of educating their children are different reasons for the denial of acquisition to migrant children,” said Mr. Peter. With the workforce successful abbreviated supply, employers are besides reluctant to springiness migrant workers breaks to enrol their children successful schools.

'Schools can’t contradict admission'

Subin Paul, Deputy Director of Education, Ernakulam, said that nary schoolhouse tin contradict admittance to children up to the property of 14. “Strict directions tin beryllium issued to immoderate schoolhouse that does truthful if circumstantial cases are pointed out. As things stand, the occupation is that students without Aadhaar cards volition not beryllium included connected the authoritative rolls of schools and hence volition neither beryllium included connected the authoritative headcount nor beryllium eligible for resultant benefits,” helium said.