Class 10 students of Telangana face a 42-character name limit on SSC forms

NIZAMABAD: What’s in a name? In Telangana, for a Class 10 student, the answer is less than 42 characters, not one more.

This arbitrary limit, hidden in the fine print of the SSC examination form, has collided with the reality of modern identity, where Aadhaar and birth certificates grant the freedom of limitless characters, leaving many students forced to legally shrink their identities to fit a digital box.

Birth certificates and Aadhaar cards allow names of any length. But when students reach Class 10, the SSC application accepts only names within a 42-character limit. Parents say they were never warned of this restriction at the time of school admissions, even though Aadhaar details are used to fill out the forms.

When a name exceeds the limit, families are told to shorten it through initials and then align the new version across birth certificates, Aadhaar and UDISE records. The correction process is lengthy: birth-certificate changes must be made at the MeeSeva centre where the document was originally issued, or, for certificates under GHMC limits, through GHMC citizen services or MeeSeva centres.

Many parents end up travelling long distances and spending significant amounts to complete the cycle of changes.

The Telangana SSC Board has no system to deal with names beyond 42 characters. Although the portal allows editing, it works only if the name already fits the limit. Officials at the district and state levels offer no clear guidance.

Parents are now urging the SSC Board to either scrap the cap or permit students with longer names to receive Class 10 certificates on the basis of affidavits. They say these are the only workable remedies to prevent unnecessary expense and stress.

Officials in the examination branch of the District Educational Officer (DEO), Nizamabad, said they have not yet encountered names exceeding 42 characters and that parents typically shorten them while submitting Class 10 applications.

The story is reported by MVK Sastry of The New Indian Express.