– Reshma Ravishanker

The Association of Independent Schools of India has written to the chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), seeking a withdrawal of the board’s order to upload transfer certificates on school websites citing privacy concerns raised by parents.

The letter dated August 10, 2026, addressed to the CBSE chairman says that TCs contain personal information about students and that making these documents publicly accessible on school websites could compromise children’s privacy.

The association has claimed that parents have reportedly objected to this practice, saying it infringes upon the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution. They ascertain that they also had privacy concerns examined by experts, who supported the parents’ objections.

In the wake of these concerns, Damodar Prasad Goyal, president, Association of Independent Schools of India (AISI) sought that the TCs be issued through the state education department’s portal and contain the student’s Permanent Education Number (PEN). When a student moves to another school, the new school is required to enter the child’s details on both the UDISE portal and the relevant state education department portal, while the PEN remains unchanged. It also points out that CBSE issues a migration certificate, further questioning the need for publicly available TCs.

It maybe recollected that in circular dated October 14, 2019, CBSE instructed schools to immediately upload TCs on their official websites and asked schools admitting students to verify the TC issued by the previous CBSE school from that school’s website, particularly for admissions to Classes X and XII.

CBSE continues to describe the requirement in its guidance to school principals saying affiliated schools are expected to maintain their websites with information including copies of transfer certificates issued, and CBSE says copies of all TCs issued should be uploaded to the school website on the same day as issuance. The Board explains that this is meant to provide documentary evidence of student transfers and help verify transfers before or after the submission of the List of Candidates.

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