Haryana minister defends school form: Nothing new in it

A day after admission forms were issued to schools in Haryana — requesting parents to fill up a set of 100 questions, including Aadhaar details, caste, religion and genetic disorders — state Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma defended his department’s decision.

“In the admission forms, complete information is sought. There is nothing new in it. It was existing earlier too. During our (school) days, a student used to be admitted on the basis of their height,” Sharma said.

Read | Haryana school admission forms ask: Parents in unclean occupation?

Responding to Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala’s criticism, Sharma said, “We have not introduced any new system. As per the existing system, information about parents and their postal address is sought. Being an MLA, Surjewala doesn’t come to the Assembly. He is becoming an international leader. Probably, he doesn’t have information regarding Haryana.”

“If you (journalists) have objection on it, I will discontinue it (the forms),” Sharma said.

Earlier in the day, the state Education Department said “Aadhaar number of students seeking admission is not mandatory.” A spokesperson said, “The form is intended to ensure every student is enabled to receive full benefit of every scheme… and directly into her account if the scheme is monetary.”

“On the use of a particular adjective (unclean) with the vocation of parents, the said adjective is and has ever since been a part of a scheme of Pre-Matric Scholarship of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, GOI,” the spokesperson added.

Schools admitted that parents were resisting the move. “People have objected to certain parts of the form, especially on Aadhaar card details or their income,” said Atul Bhatt, principal, Shalom Hills International School, Gurgaon.

At Scottish High International School (SHIS), Gurgaon, several parents are still filling up the forms. “We received the forms seven or eight months ago, but we still do not have a 100% response rate. The problem is… the data required is so extensive,” said Sudha Goyal, director, SHIS.
News Source (Indian Express)