Supreme Court orders CBSE to add APAAR opt-out provision

The Supreme Court has directed the Central Board of Secondary Education to implement a high court ruling requiring clear opt-out provisions in the consent process for a national digital student identity system, bringing renewed scrutiny to the government's data collection practices in education.

On July 20, a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant stated it would order the CBSE to apply the directions of the Orissa High Court on a pan-India basis. The High Court, in a December 2025 judgment, had directed the Ministry of Education to revise the model consent form for the Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) to explicitly give parents the option to refuse enrolment or opt out of the scheme. The Supreme Court noted that the central government had accepted that judgment by choosing not to appeal it.

The APAAR ID is a unique 12-digit lifelong number introduced under the National Education Policy 2020. It is designed to serve as a digital repository for a student's academic records, including marksheets, degrees, and co-curricular achievements, integrating with platforms like DigiLocker to simplify record management and transfers between institutions.