Supreme Court Flags APAAR Data Privacy Concerns: What Is APAAR ID? How Does It Work?

Recently, a Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana directed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to examine data protection concerns related to the APAAR ID scheme. The bench also asked the agency to implement the directions issued by the Orissa High Court on the APAAR ID and ensure that the scheme complies with the provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023.

The ruling came during the hearing of a petition filed by Abhisek Baxi, arguing that the Aadhaar-linked scheme's framework violates the fundamental right to privacy, including the Right to be Forgotten.

The court's observations have once again brought the APAAR ID scheme into focus, which was introduced in 2023 to create a lifelong academic identity for every student in India. Let's learn about it in detail:

What Is APAAR ID?

The Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR ID) was introduced by the Ministry of Education as part of the record-keeping reforms of the National Education Policy, 2020. Often described as the "One Nation, One Student ID", the 12-digit identification number stores the academic records, achievements, credits and qualifications of students in one place.

Key Features Of APAAR ID

•A single educational identity for all academic records, such as marksheets and certificates, board exam certificates, degrees and diplomas, academic credits, scholarships, co-curricular achievements, and skill certificates

•Enables faster transfer of academic records across schools, colleges and other educational institutions

•Reduces the risk of duplication of certificates or fake certificates

•Provides a secure central digital repository of academic records linked to DigiLocker

•Simplifies academic record management for students and educational institutions

How To Obtain An APAAR ID?

Students can follow these steps to obtain an APAAR ID -

•Visit their school and submit their basic details, such as name, date of birth, gender, mobile number, mother's name, father's name, and Aadhaar card number.

•Obtain consent from a parent or legal guardian if the student is a minor.

•The school verifies the submitted details.

•After successful verification, the APAAR ID is generated and added to DigiLocker for future use.

Why Parental Consent Is Important For APAAR ID?

When a student is a minor, parents or legal guardians are asked for their consent before an APAAR ID is created. The consent form explains why the student's information is being collected, how it will be used, and how academic records will be stored.

Last year, the Orissa High Court asked the Ministry of Education to revise the model APAAR consent form. It stated that the parents should be given a clear option to refuse consent before the enrolment process. It also observed that if the APAAR ID scheme is voluntary, then the consent form must explicitly state that the parents are free to opt out.