In a significant move to simplify school admissions for disadvantaged families, the Uttar Pradesh government has announced a major relaxation in Aadhaar documentation requirements under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. The revised rules are designed to remove a critical hurdle faced by underprivileged households during the application process.
Simplified Documentation for Easier Access
Under the new directives issued by the state's basic and secondary education department, children seeking admission under the 25% quota in private unaided schools will no longer need to submit their own Aadhaar cards or the IDs of both parents. The Aadhaar card of any one parent will now be sufficient to complete the online application. This change directly addresses the practical difficulties many families face in obtaining Aadhaar for very young children.
According to reports, Additional Chief Secretary Partha Sarthi Sen Sharma stated that the government's primary objective is to make the RTE admission process smoother and more accessible. The order has been sent to all District Magistrates, who also serve as presidents of the District Education Project Committees (DEPCs).
Financial Aid and Strict Quota Enforcement
While the documentation process is eased, the order clarifies that financial assistance under the RTE Act will be transferred only to Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of the parents. Applicants must provide these seeded account details at the time of admission to ensure direct benefit transfer without delays or leakages.
The government has reiterated its commitment to strictly enforcing the legal mandate of Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act. District-wise annual admission targets will be fixed, covering up to 25% of the total capacity of the lowest entry class (Class I or pre-primary) in all unaided private schools across each district.
Clear Age Criteria and Transparent Allotment
The state has also provided clear age guidelines for different entry levels:
- Nursery: Children aged 3 years or above but below 4 years.
- LKG: Children aged between 4 and 5 years.
- UKG: Children aged 5 to 6 years.
- Class I: Children aged 6 to 7 years.
The verification of all documents will be handled by the Block Education Officer and the Basic Shiksha Adhikari. Once applications are approved by the District Magistrate or Chief Development Officer, the final school allotment will be conducted through a two-stage online lottery system on a notified date.
In the first stage, applications will be randomly mixed online and assigned lottery numbers. Subsequently, schools will be allotted by considering parents' preferences and the ascending order of lottery numbers, processing applications in batches of 100. The final list will require the District Magistrate's approval.
Removing Barriers to Education
Officials emphasize that this revised framework aims to dismantle administrative barriers, ensuring that eligible children are not denied their fundamental right to education due to documentation issues. The government is confident that these procedural changes will lead to fairer access, faster processing, and more effective implementation of the RTE admissions across Uttar Pradesh, ultimately bringing more underprivileged children into the formal education system.
