Bareilly: Days before the last date for filling online examination forms, 16-year-old Nazir Ahmed, a native of Nepal’s Rupandehi district and student of a madrassa in Maharajganj district of Uttar Pradesh, was shocked to find that the UP Board of Madrassa Education has made Aadhaar card compulsory for it. “My future is likely to be jeopardised as I do not possess an Aadhaar card. I have been studying in this madrassa for the past five years. Many neighbours of mine have also studied from other Islamic schools in India for decades. There have been no problems in the past,” said Ahmed, who is pursing Alim course. The last date for filling formss is January 15.

Like Ahmed, the future of nearly 1,000 students from Nepal hangs in the balance. “Due to the 1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the two countries, Nepalese citizens can stay and study in India without a visa. Since our country does not have enough madrassas, nearly 1,000 students from there study in the UP madrassas. They cannot write their exams now even after attending classes,” said Deewan Saheb Jaman Khan, state general secretary, Teachers’ Association Madaris Arabia Uttar Pradesh. Khan, on Tuesday, wrote to the UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, state minister for minority welfare and UP Board of Madrassa Education in this connection.

Sayyad Ali Nizami, principal, Madrassa Arabia Saeedul Uloom of Maharajganj, a government-aided madrassa, said, “Our madrassa is barely 14 kilometres from Nepal. Currently, more than 30 Nepalese students study at our institute. We had contacted officials at the UP Board of Madrassa Education but they told us that nothing could be done to solve this.”

Maulana Belal Ahmed, vice-principal of Jamia Ahle Sunnat Ishatul Islam madrassa in Sidharthnagar, said, “We have 70 students from Nepal who are unable to fill exam forms. There are also 75 other Nepalese students in our junior classes. An entire academic year will be wasted if these students are unable to write their final exams.”

Maulana Barkat Ali, principal of another local madrassa, said, “The Nepalese students have been studying at our madrassa for the past several years. We will be held liable if they do not get certificates from the UP Board of Madrassa Education. When people from other countries are allowed to work in our country, we should give them an opportunity to study here as well.”

Rahul Gupta, registrar of the UP Board of Madrassa Education, said, “I have sought data of Nepalese students studying in various madrassas across UP. We will ask them to provide any other valid identity card issued by government authorities in Nepal. We will then take it for final approval with the state government.”