Mysuru: A tribal student from Chamarajanagar district is struggling to enrol for the upcoming SSLC examination because he does not have an Aadhaar, with activists and officials giving different accounts of the delay.Madesha M, a resident of Ganiga Mangala village, initially attended an Ashrama school run by the tribal welfare department. He now studies at a high school in Kollegal. Madesha said his teachers had asked him to obtain Aadhaar for SSLC examination enrolment.Nagendra Ganiga Mangala, president of Adivasi Hitarakshana Samiti, Chamarajanagar, alleged that Madesha was among nearly 100 former ashrama school students still struggling to obtain Aadhaar.Nagendra said Madesha had discontinued his education two years ago after being denied admission because he lacked Aadhaar. Activists later secured his admission to a Kollegal school after receiving an assurance that he would get the card soon, but it had not been issued despite two years of efforts.Tribal welfare department officials attributed the delay to a mismatch in address details. An officer, requesting anonymity, said Madesha’s documents had been notarised and the department was working through the proper channel to secure his Aadhaar at the earliest. The officer accused activists of raising the issue to claim credit.Nagendra said tribal children without Aadhaar were being denied several benefits, including rice and scholarships. He alleged that officials blamed activists instead of addressing the problems when such issues were raised.
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