Aadhaar cards are not required for Indian school students in Oman

Muscat: Aadhaar cards will not be required for Indian students appearing for exams, a circular from India’s Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), said.
Wilson George, chairman, Board of Directors, Indian schools in Sultanate of Oman, confirmed that the Indian government has waived a requirement for Aadhaar cards for registration of Indian students living in Oman.
“Students may use (their) passport number in place of Aadhaar cards while filling up the online registration of Class IX/XI and list of candidates for class X/XII,” the CBSE circular, which was issued on May 15, said.
There was confusion among Indian parents after a circular was issued by the Indian School Muscat, which stated that all students of Class IX to XII, should get an Aadhaar Card.
The notice said CBSE has made the Aadhaar number mandatory for Class IX to XII’s online registration, which will be done in August and 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 can also do the Aadhaar registration for their wards during the next summer holidays,” the circular added.
Wilson said it was earlier not clear whether students need an Aadhaar card or not. “It was an optional thing. I am glad that they removed it,” he said, after holding a meeting with the senior officials of CBSE in New Delhi, India.
He also said the CBSE board has waived off the requirement after the Board received various queries from CBSE-affiliated schools located in foreign countries, expressing their inability to provide an Aadhaar number to their students, owing to the fact that schools are on the foreign land and the majority of students do not have Aadhaar cards. “It would have been a lot of hassle for children,” he said.
The parents are, however, happy with the decision. “We thought we will have to spend a lot of time obtaining Aadhaar cards during summer holidays in India. We are glad that it has been removed,” S Raja, an Indian expat living in Oman, said.
Earlier, the Indian embassy in Muscat also said Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are not entitled to an Aadhaar Card and do not require it for filing tax returns or anything else.