As per the directives issued by the ministry, Maharashtra schools have been entrusted with a new and important responsibility as part of the central government's 'One National, One Student' initiative. Their task is to secure parental approval for the issuance of unique student identity numbers within the Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) ID system. These customized IDs are set to revolutionize the way students' educational progress, accomplishments, and personal information are monitored.
As a further extension of this initiative, the Maharashtra government has directed educators to update various student particulars in the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) database. These particulars include students' blood type, height, and weight. However, the introduction of these non-academic duties has sparked concerns among the teaching community.
The new responsibilities have led to growing concerns among teachers in Maharashtra. A report published in the Hindustan Times quoted Pandurang Kengar, representing the school principals' association in Mumbai, who expressed his apprehensions about the increasing administrative workload on schools. He highlighted that schools had recently completed updating students' Aadhaar cards in the UDISE system, and now they are tasked with creating new ID cards and updating students' physical attributes. Meanwhile, a representative of Shikshak Bharti, also voiced concerns about these additional data entry tasks. He questioned the necessity of collecting more data when detailed student information is already available in UDISE. According to Sarode, these new responsibilities threaten to transform teachers into data entry operators.
To ensure that parents fully understand the significance of the APAAR ID, schools in Maharashtra have been requested to conduct special Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) meetings from October 16 to 18, 2023. These meetings aim to provide parents with detailed information about the initiative and its implications. Subsequently, schools will be required to categorize each student as either "consented" or "not consented" in the UDISE database. Moreover, the Maharashtra School Education Department has taken a formal step in this process by issuing a letter to the Commissioner of Education. This letter is accompanied by a consent form and a list of use cases for the new ID as provided by the Central Education Ministry. The consent form explicitly states, "I consent to share my Aadhaar Number and demographic information issued by UIDAI with the Ministry of Education for the purpose of creating an APAAR ID."
The APAAR ID is intended to serve as a lifelong identifier, granting access to a wide range of educational resources and services. It will be instrumental in monitoring drop-out rates, digitally storing student records, exam results, comprehensive report cards, health information, and educational achievements. Additionally, it will be a vital tool for National Testing Agency (NTA) entrance exams, admissions, scholarship disbursements, government benefit transfers, and awards. During an event in Mumbai, TG Sitharam, Chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), emphasized the significance of the APAAR ID and the National Credit Framework (NCrF). He highlighted that these systems generate a QR code for every learner, making it easier to access educational information.
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