Indian children without Aadhaar digital ID shut out of school

Millions of children risk being excluded from school and free food programmes due to a lack of the Indian government's biometric ID cards. — Photo by Timon Studler on Unsplash

LUCKNOW, India: Nine-year-old Rakhi and her two siblings should be in school, but instead they spend afternoons watching cartoons on their father’s phone at home in the north Indian city of Lucknow.

Since they moved last year to Lucknow from Hardoi, about 110km (68 miles) away, the children have been denied admission at a local school because they do not have Aadhaar, the biometric identity card issued by the Indian government.