Under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the Union Ministry of Education has come up with a plan to create unique ID numbers for school students across India. The ‘One Nation One Student ID’ called Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) will be for every student, from pre-primary to higher education. This is in addition to the 12-digit Aadhaar ID that every student has.
The APAAR ID, an Education Ecosystem Registry or edulocker, is to be treated as a lifelong ID number and will track students’ academic journey and achievements.
The Union Ministry has directed all states and Union Territories to begin the process of creating APAAR IDs for students. APAAR and National Credit Framework will be the QR code for learners across India and register every skill the students pick up.
The state school education department has asked educational institutions to organise a meeting of parents and teachers between October 16 and 18 to discuss the importance of creating the APAAR ID.
Data captured on the Aadhaar ID will be the basis of the APAAR ID. While parents’ consent will be required, the government has assured the data will stay confidential and shared only with government agencies, where required. Parents who give their consent can withdraw it any time. After the consent, it becomes the school’s responsibility to upload the same on the central Unified District and Information System for Education Plus portal.
