This document summarizes the Indian Ministry of Education's response to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1333, answered on July 28, 2025, regarding discrepancies in Aadhaar cards of students enrolled in government and semi-government schools. The question raised concerns about anomalies affecting approximately 408,000 students, with about 322,000 declared invalid, and the potential deprivation of educational schemes and benefits.
The Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Shri Jayant Choudhary, provided the following data, as reported by the state of Maharashtra: Total students: 18,489,092; Aadhaar not provided: 455,263; Pending Aadhaar validation: 680,686; Failed Aadhaar validation: 208,903; Passed Aadhaar validation: 17,144,240; Verified Aadhaar only: 17,036,596 (Source: UDISE data).
Common reasons for failed validation include mismatches in name, spelling, date of birth, non-updation of Aadhaar cards, missing dates of birth, errors during registration on the state's SARAL portal, and discrepancies in gender. The state School Education Department is addressing these issues through ongoing enrollment and correction processes at the block and cluster levels, utilizing two Aadhaar kits per block.
The Ministry stated that no student has been deprived of schemes and scholarships due to invalidated Aadhaar cards. The Government of India is committed to ensuring that all eligible students receive benefits from centrally sponsored schemes like Samagra Shiksha and PM-POSHAN, which are jointly funded and implemented with the states. The Department continuously reviews and guides states in rectifying ground-level issues through Project Appraisal Board (PAB) meetings and quarterly meetings with states.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Education: A department of the Government of India responsible for education.
Aadhaar Card: A 12-digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India.
Maharashtra: A state in India where discrepancies in Aadhaar cards of students were reported.
SARAL portal: State portal where errors occurred during registration.
State School Education Department: The department in Maharashtra responsible for school education, undertaking Aadhaar-related activities.
Samagra Shiksha: A centrally sponsored scheme for school education funded and implemented jointly by the Government of India and States.
PMPOSHAN: A centrally sponsored scheme funded and implemented jointly by the Government of India and States to ensure nutritional support for students.
Project Appraisal Board PAB: A board that reviews and provides guidance to States for rectifying issues faced on the ground.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1333
ANSWERED ON 28.07.2025
Discrepancies in Aadhaar Card of Students
†1333 Smt. Dhanorkar Pratibha Suresh:
Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state:
(a) whether anomalies have been noticed in the Aadhaar Cards of approximately four lakh eight
thousand students enrolled in Government and Semi-Government schools in the country
including Maharashtra and out of them about three lakh twenty two thousand students have
been declared invalid, if so, the reasons behind the anomalies;
(b) the number of students being deprived of various educational schemes and benefits including
scholarships due to the said discrepancies and the steps taken by the Government so far to
address the said issue;
(c) the time limit for removal of the said discrepancies and to provide them the benefits of the
schemes; and
(d) the measures being taken by the Government to prevent such problems in future?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
(SHRI JAYANT CHOUDHARY)
(a) to (d): The status of Aadhaar registration of school students in Maharashtra and progress in
validating Aadhaar details thereof, as reported by the State, is as follows:
S No. Number
1 Total Students 1,84,89,092
2 Aadhaar not provided 4,55,263
3 Pending Aadhaar validation 6,80,686
4 Failed Aadhaar validation 2,08,903
5 Passed Aadhaar validation 1,71,44,240
6 Verified Aadhaar only 1,70,36,596
* Source: UDISE+ data
The State has informed that common reasons for failure of validation include mismatch in name,
spelling, date of birth (D.O.B), non-updation of Aadhaar card, missing D.O.B in Aadhaar card,
errors while registering on State’s SARAL portal, discrepancy in gender etc. Work of new
enrolment and corrections in Aadhaar cards is an ongoing and continuous process at the block and
cluster level with the State School Education Department having developed two Aadhaar kits for
carrying out Aadhaar related activities in each Block of Maharashtra. Further, no student has been
deprived from availing the benefit of schemes and scholarships due to Aadhaar being invalidated.The Government of India is committed to ensure that every eligible student avails the intended
benefits of all schemes run by this Department, including centrally sponsored schemes such as
Samagra Shiksha and PM-POSHAN which are funded and implemented jointly by GoI with States.
To this end, this Department continuously reviews and provides guidance to States for rectifying
issues faced on the ground through Project Appraisal Board (PAB) and quarterly meetings with
States.
******