March 2026 deadline for schools to update Aadhaar biometric of kids

Bengaluru: The Department of School Education and Literacy has set March 2026 as the deadline for schools across the state to update the Aadhaar Mandatory Biometric (Aadhaar MBU) of the children aged 5 and 15 years.

As updation of Aadhaar is mandatory to claim various benefits, including scholarships both from state and union government and also for the government to implement various schemes like Mid-Day-Meals and Ksheera Bhagya, free eggs and bananas, the department issued a circular insisting on mandatory Aadhaar MBU.

The department has instructed the schools to conduct camps and update the Aadhaar of all children aged 5 and 15 years.

As explained by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), considering the changes in iris and fingerprint, to maintain the reliability of the biometric, it has been made mandatory to update. Till October 2025, the update was done free of cost.

“All schools must complete the process by March 1, 2026,” reads the circular.

The department has already made it mandatory to update students’ Aadhaar with the Student Achievement Tracking System (UDISE), but even that is not completed despite repeated reminders.

The circular stated that, if the Aadhaar MBU is delayed, then students will not be able to apply for any of the scholarships offered by both the state and the Centre.

The responsibility of completing the task has been assigned to Commissioners of Public Instruction and the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Zilla Panchayats and they have been asked to have weekly progress review meetings to get the latest updates.

Why this process?

When a child attains the age of 5 and 15, all the documents, including Iris, photograph and fingerprint, will be updated.

Following the same, UIDAI will update the details, retaining the original Aadhaar number provided to children. This process is called the first Aadhaar MBU and and second Aadhaar MBU.