Muscat: Indian students in Oman appearing for Class X and Class XII board exams next year will have to get an Aadhaar Card as an identification document. Indian School Muscat (ISM) has issued a notice asking all students of Class IX to XII to get an Aadhaar Card, which will be required for online registration for board exams.

“The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has made an Aadhaar number mandatory for Class IX to XII online registration which will be done in August/September 2017. Parents are expected to enrol their wards for the Aadhaar registration process during the forthcoming summer holidays or earlier and get an Aadhaar number. Parents of students studying in other classes also can do the Aadhaar registration for their wards during the next summer holidays,” the circular stated.

An official at the Board of Directors of Indian Schools in Oman said that an Aadhaar number has been made mandatory for students who will appear for board exams next year.

The official added that although CBSE had called for an Aadhaar number as an essential identification document for all students appearing in board examinations this year, it was lenient in enforcing it. “But next year onwards it will be mandatory.”

On any provisions for getting an Aadhaar Card in Oman for those looking to get one, the official said that students will have to get it from India during their next visit. An official at the Indian Embassy in Muscat also said that one can enrol for an Aadhaar Card only in India. “Till now there is no provision for enrolling for an Aadhaar Card outside India.”

With the new decision, all students of Class IX to XII are expected to fly to India to get their Aadhaar registration done. Reacting to this, Ahsan, a parent of student studying in ISM, said, “To expect each and every student of these classes to fly to India during summer break is something perplexing. Although a lot of families do go to India during summer break, but not everyone has a scheduled leave in summers. There are many parents who opt to take a break during winter vacations to visit India.”

Additionally, CBSE from 2018 onwards, has done away with the dual scheme of examination for Class X. CBSE has issued the remodelled assessment structure for the board exams according to which students will be required to score 33 per cent in both theory and internal assessment to pass.

According to the new structure, the board exams will carry 80 marks and internal assessment 20 marks.

In December last year, CBSE had announced its decision to make board exams mandatory, taking away the option of school-based exams.

Illegal for NRIs to have Aadhaar?

Meanwhile, some technicalities may mean that it is currently ‘illegal’ for NRIs to apply for the card, though more and more Indian institutions and government departments are asking for Aadhaar authentication.

Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO, Unique Identification Authority of India, which issues the Aadhaar Card was recently quoted by the media as saying, “According to Aadhaar Act, only residents of India are entitled to get an Aadhaar number. NRIs cannot get an Aadhaar because they are not entitled to get it.”

Pandey was referring to Section 3.1 of the Aadhaar Act 2016, which says that only a resident shall be entitled to obtain an Aadhaar number.

Although the act does not explicitly bar NRIs from enrolment, the official was referring to the fact that an Indian would be treated as non-resident if he or she did not stay for at least 182 days in India in the preceding year as per other relevant laws.

The declaration to be attested by Aadhaar Card applicants reads: “I confirm that I have been residing in India for at least 182 days in the preceding 12 months.”