K'taka: Delay in authentication of Aadhaar with SATS deprives 26 lakh students of many govt schemes
Bengaluru: Around 26 lakh primary and high school students from government, aided, and private schools across Karnataka are reportedly being deprived of midday meals, scholarships, and other schemes due to failure of Aadhaar authentication with the Student Achievement Tracking System (SATS).
The Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) has expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in completing Aadhaar authentication, despite the process being underway for the past two years, as reported by The Hindu on Tuesday.
The Commissioner of Public Instruction has decided to take disciplinary action against the officials responsible for the delay. A seven-day deadline has been set to complete the Aadhaar authentication process.
The DSEL has been working on the Aadhaar authentication process alongside SATS for the past two years to ensure the proper implementation of the midday meal programme, scholarships, and other initiatives, while also gathering accurate data on the number of students.
Out of a total of 1.04 crore students in the state from classes 1 to 10, only 78 lakh have successfully completed the Aadhaar authentication process, the report stated. Around 18 lakh students’ Aadhaar records remain unauthenticated in the system. Additionally, about 8 lakh students had their Aadhaar authenticated, but it was deemed unsuccessful due to mismatches between the student's details and the information in Aadhaar and SATS.
A senior official of DSEL stated that if Aadhaar authentication with SATS fails, it will impact the implementation of the midday meal and other programmes for school students. Inaccurate student numbers may lead to the Union Government objecting to the release of funds. “In addition, other departments, including the Social Welfare Department, Backward Classes Welfare Department and Minority Welfare Department, will not be able to reach the students with other schemes, including scholarships. Aadhaar authentication with SATS is the only solution for all these problems,” the official was quoted as saying by the news outlet.
K.V. Trilokchandra, Commissioner of DPI, has issued a circular to all Deputy Directors of Public Instruction (DDPIs), Block Education Officers (BEOs) and other department officials, instructing them to complete the Aadhaar authentication process within the given time frame.
He mentioned that Aadhaar authentication is mandatory with SATS to deliver various government schemes to children. "The Aadhaar authentication process has been simplified recently and all students Aadhaar authentication with SATS process will be completed soon," he added.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
