When it comes to applying for NEET, should you use your name as it is in the Aadhaar card or in your Class 10 school certificate?
A city school student, aspiring to be a doctor, is now afraid that her application for NEET would be rejected as her name in the Aadhaar card is different from the one in the school records. The student has two initials as per her school record, whereas her Aadhaar card carries only her father’s name after hers.
The family tried seeking help from Central Board of Secondary Education, but in vain. “I have tried calling all the numbers on the CBSE NEET website and have also emailed to the address on the website but have not received any response,” said her grand-uncle R. Pasupathi.
“I am worried that her application will be rejected as Aadhaar is mandatory to apply for NEET. When she was admitted to school, her parents added a second initial along with her father’s name. In the Aadhaar card, there is no option for adding another initial. We don’t know what to do. All her academic records so far have both her initials,” Mr. Pasupathi said.
The CBSE website has answered many queries in its Frequently Asked Questions section but none pertain to multiple initials.
Changing name
State School Education officials said they maintained an education information management system. “We are linking Aadhaar with the student’s details in schools and only the name in the school record is taken for Aadhaar. We tell students and the parents about the pitfalls in changing the name for numerological purposes. A student who is appearing for Class 12 has already appeared for a public exam and as the details furnished in Class 10 certificate will be considered final, the student would have to adhere to the name provided to the school,” the official explained. The student could change the name in Aadhaar card as it offers an online edit option, he added.
A.T.B. Bose, general secretary of Managements of Private CBSE schools, said, “The parents could go to an e-seva centre and correct their child’s name in Aadhaar card to match the school records. Within three days the Aadhaar card with the corrected name can be downloaded and that can be used to apply for NEET. Schools should have a mechanism to compare the names on Aadhaar card and its record and alert the parents.”
