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The Centre and several State governments are pushing for large-scale adoption of the APAAR ID, leading to concerns over privacy, data security, and its voluntary status.

What is APAAR?

APAAR stands for Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry, a 12-digit unique student identification number. It is a central digital record system introduced under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and is part of the broader ‘One Nation, One Student ID’ initiative. The ID consolidates students’ academic and co-curricular achievements across school and higher education, accessible via DigiLocker and generated through the UDISE+ portal.

Objectives and Benefits:

• Seamless Academic Mobility: Enables smooth transfers between schools and institutions.
• Permanent Record Keeping: Stores marksheets, qualifications, and affiliations in one place.
• Career and Skill Support: Facilitates use in entrance exams, job applications, skill training, and admissions.
• Data for Policymaking: Helps track educational outcomes and inform targeted interventions.
• Integration with Other Platforms:
  • DigiLocker: Cloud-based certificate storage recognized under IT Rules, 2016.
  • Academic Bank of Credits (ABC): Links credit transfers with APAAR ID.

Is APAAR Mandatory?

• Legally Voluntary: The Union Government clarified in Parliament (Dec 2024) that APAAR registration is not compulsory.
• Implementation Pressure: CBSE and states like Uttar Pradesh have aggressively pushed for 100% coverage, leading to confusion.
• Opt-Out Provision: Parents can submit a written refusal to schools. Templates are available from digital rights organizations like the Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC).

Generation Process:

• School verifies student’s demographic details.
• Parent/guardian provides consent (especially for minors).
• ID is generated post-authentication.

Key Challenges:

• Privacy Concerns: Collection of children's personal data without a dedicated legal framework raises constitutional questions.
  • Section 9(3) of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 prohibits tracking and profiling of children.
  • Risk of data exposure due to open APIs and lack of cybersecurity safeguards.
• Lack of Transparency: No clear policy document; RTI applications have been redirected multiple times without clear answers.
• Administrative Burden: Teachers duplicate data already recorded under UDISE+, leading to extra workload.
• Technical Glitches: Issues in Aadhaar linking and data mismatches delay generation. Example: Only 24% APAAR generation in Bengaluru Urban South due to such errors.

Way Forward:

• Clear Communication: Government must ensure schools inform parents about the voluntary nature.
• Legal Safeguards: A robust data protection mechanism should be mandated before full-scale rollout.
• Capacity Building: Train school authorities on secure data handling and informed consent procedures.
• Monitoring and Accountability: States should report progress and resolve grievances via helplines and grievance redress mechanisms.