Kerala's (a southern Indian state) Education Minister N. Samsudheen has said the government will reconsider a rule requiring students to possess an Aadhaar card — India's national biometric identity document — to be counted in official school enrolment figures, after reports emerged that dozens of migrant children were denied admission because they lacked the document. Of 126 migrant children identified in Ernakulam district, 88 were turned away at the start of the current academic year; the minister acknowledged similar cases had surfaced across other districts. The rule, introduced to prevent schools from inflating pupil numbers by enrolling the same child in multiple institutions, has drawn criticism from child welfare groups who argue it violates India's Right to Education Act, which guarantees free schooling to all children aged 6 to 14 regardless of documentation.