New admission forms in Haryana schools ask students whether their parents are engaged in any “unclean occupation”. The forms, which have 100 questions each, also ask students for their and their parents’ Aadhaar numbers, and whether they have any genetic disorders or physical or mental disabilities.
The forms also question if students’ parents pay income tax and seek details on the their bank accounts and their religion and caste.
Private school authorities have told parents that the Haryana Education Department has asked for the information and not the institutions themselves. “The government had asked us to get parents fill out this form,” Aditi Misra, the principal of a school in Gurgaon told The Indian Express. “Some parents have been reluctant to share certain details, such as their income or bank account statements. These are details we would not usually ask for. But we have made it clear that if there are objections, they will have to be taken up with the government of Haryana.”
The Opposition Congress attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Haryana for the “surveillance” and “racial and religious profiling” of parents and students.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, in a series of tweets, blamed the Manohar Lal Khattar government. “Students labelled as ‘untouchables’ and their parents’ occupation as ‘unclean’. Height of insanity is the kind of pvt info [private information] of parents being sought,” he tweeted. “Calling vocation of parents unclean is absurd. Since when has Aadhaar become mandatory for school admission?”
The form has triggered a controversy with many parents unhappy about sharing such sensitive personal details. “Asking details of religion and caste is appalling,” a parent from Gurugram told IANS. “If parents come from different religions, like Hindu and Sikh marriages are common in the region, what religion will the child mention. Moreover, why do they need bank account details of the student?”
Haryana BJP spokesperson Raman Malik, however, told The Indian Express that such details will help the government. “Such details are asked to ascertain whether a student requires medical check-up or special attention,” Malik said. “Further, there is no harm in asking details about the caste of the students. By such information, the government can know which community is lacking behind in availing education. It will enable the government to take corrective measures.”
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