Chandigarh: Parents looking to enrol their children in Haryana schools must shun an "unclean occupation" first.

New admission forms for the state's schools, whose format has been decided by the BJP government, are seeking information on whether the applicant's parents are engaged in any "unclean occupation" and whether the student has a "genetic disorder". The forms do not classify what is an "unclean profession".

The two-page form with 100 questions also seeks caste, religion, Aadhaar and bank account information.

"We have received the format for all Haryana schools from the education department. It has to be filled up by parents. We (the school) are not asking for these details, nor will we keep it. The government has asked for it," said the principal of a school in Panchkula, adding that the filled-up forms have to be submitted by April 16.

Calls to Haryana secondary education director Rajiv Rattan went unanswered.

The Congress has demanded the withdrawal of the admission forms and sought an apology from the Manohar Lal Khattar government.

"This is not an admission form, it is a parents-students surveillance form. Why does Khattar need the parents' Aadhaar and bank information? Isn't the Khattar government engaging in racial profiling and religious profiling? Since when did Aadhaar become mandatory for admission to schools?" asked Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.

School forms, however, usually ask for details such as religion, parental income and Aadhaar number.

One of the members managing the Facebook group Gurgaon Parents for Better Education questioned the rationale behind the move.

"Why is the Haryana government interested in our annual income when we are paying our taxes on time? Whether Aadhaar should be mandatory is still being discussed by the Supreme Court, then why is the government insisting on it?" she asked.

Haryana BJP spokesperson Raman Malik claimed the government was within its rights to seek the details.

"There is nothing wrong in seeking such information. Such details (genetic disorder) can help in ascertaining whether a student needs any special attention. Where is the harm in asking about caste? The government, with these data, will know which community is lagging behind in education and take corrective measures," Malik said.