Aadhaar delay has put the SSLC examination enrolment of a tribal student from Chamarajanagar district at risk, with activists alleging that nearly 100 former ashrama school students are facing similar difficulties and officials attributing the hold-up to an address mismatch.
Madesha M, a resident of Ganiga Mangala village, initially studied at an Ashrama school run by the tribal welfare department. He is now enrolled at a high school in Kollegal, but said his teachers had asked him to obtain Aadhaar to complete the process for the upcoming SSLC examination.
According to Nagendra Ganiga Mangala, president of the Adivasi Hitarakshana Samiti in Chamarajanagar, Madesha has been trying to secure the document for two years. Nagendra said the student had discontinued his education two years ago after being denied admission because he did not have Aadhaar.
Activists later helped secure Madesha’s admission to a school in Kollegal after receiving an assurance that the Aadhaar card would be issued soon. However, the document had still not been issued, the report said.
An official of the tribal welfare department, speaking on condition of anonymity, attributed the delay to a mismatch in address details. The officer said Madesha’s documents had been notarised and that the department was working through the proper channel to obtain his Aadhaar at the earliest.
The official also accused activists of raising the issue to claim credit. Nagendra rejected that position and alleged that tribal children without Aadhaar were being denied access to several benefits, including rice and scholarships. He further alleged that officials blamed activists instead of resolving documentation problems when such cases were brought to their attention.
The dispute places the student’s immediate examination requirement alongside a wider administrative problem: access to education and welfare can become dependent on the resolution of identity and address records. In Madesha’s case, the disagreement between the department and activists has not changed the practical deadline facing the student—completing SSLC examination enrolment.
The report does not establish whether Madesha’s examination registration has been formally rejected or whether the education department has approved an alternative verification process. It also does not provide an official figure for the number of tribal students affected beyond the activist’s estimate of nearly 100 former ashrama school students.
The tribal welfare department said it was pursuing the Aadhaar application through the proper channel. The next stated step is for officials to secure the document at the earliest, while the student’s school must complete the examination enrolment process for the upcoming SSLC examination.
