Context: Several state governments requested schools to seek parental consent for the creation of a new student identity card known as the Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR).
About APAAR ID
- Under the initiative, each student would get a lifelong APAAR ID, making it easy for the learners, schools, and governments to track academic progress like literacy rates, dropout rates from pre-primary education to higher education.
- Every individual will have a unique APAAR ID, which will be linked to the Academic Bank Credit (ABC), which is a digital storehouse that contains information of the credits earned by students throughout their learning journey.
- With the APAAR ID, students would be able to store all their certificates and credits, whether they come from formal education or informal learning.
- It is part of the ‘One Nation, One Student ID’ initiative outlined in the National Education Policy of 2020.
- Registration for creating APAAR ID is voluntary, not mandatory.
Working of APAAR ID
- To sign up for APAAR, students will have to provide basic information such as name, age, date of birth, gender, and a photograph. This information will be verified using their Aadhar number.
- Students will need to sign a consent form, and they can choose to either accept or decline sharing their Aadhar number and demographic information with the Ministry of Education for creating the APAAR ID.
- For minors, parents will have to sign the consent form, allowing the Ministry to use the student’s Aadhar number for authentication with UIDAI.
- If the student changes schools, whether within the state or to another state, all her data in the ABC gets transferred to her new school just by sharing the APAAR ID, no need to provide physical documents or transfer certificates.
- It would also serve as a gateway to Digilocker, a digital system where students can store their important documents and achievements, making it easier to access and use them in the future for, say, pursuing higher education or finding a job.
Significance of APAAR ID
- Aims to reduce fraud and duplicate educational certificates by providing a single, trusted reference for educational institutions. Only first party sources that issue certificates will be allowed to deposit credits into the system, ensuring authenticity.
- Also to make education hassle-free and reduce the need for students to carry physical documents.
