Include engineering, med degrees in National Academic Depository: Panel

A parliamentary panel has raised questions on the effectiveness of the proposed National Academic Depository (NAD), recommending that a regulatory framework along the lines of the Unique Identification Authority (UID) be established and all courses, including professional streams like medical and engineering, be included under the ambit of the law.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development (HRD), headed by Congress MP Oscar Fernandes, which tabled its report recently, also recommended that provision of allowing disputes to be resolved by the National Educational Tribunal should be reviewed since the tribunal was only mandated to handle higher education cases.

The NAD Bill provides for the maintenance of a national database of academic awards like degrees, diplomas, certificates given by universities, colleges and school boards in electronic format in a depository. This is expected to eliminate fraudulent practices such as forging of certificates and marksheets by facilitating online verification. Students seeking jobs or pursuing further studies require a credible and easy mechanism to access and verify academic awards by various authorities. The depository is expected to resolve these issues in a quick and effective manner.

The panel has advocated that besides school boards and universities, professional awards like medical, engineering, architecture, chartered accountants and others be included. So far, 39 bodies, including CBSE and National Institute of Open Schooling, are included. The panel said that if professional degrees and diplomas were not included, it would lead to a situation where individuals holding high professional qualifications will be unable to use this service.

Observing that the data handled and maintained by NAD was “crucial and sensitive”, the report said, “When a National Identification Authority can be mandated for establishing, operating and maintaining of a central repository, a similar authority can well be mandated to have the responsibility of handling the affairs of the NAD.” It reasoned that a regulatory framework will assist in verification of the academic award. The panel has also sought a review on the process of settling disputes.

Source: The Times of India, April 7, 2012

Pilot project for digital academic repository complete

The government has moved step closer to creating a national academic depository that’s expected to help curb forgery and make verifications of education credentials easier and quicker. Human resource development (HRD) minister Kapil Sibal said on Monday a pilot to assess the feasibility of this depository has been completed.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which carried out the pilot, has digitized the education certificates of all the students who cleared its class XII examination in 2011. Certificates of aspiring teachers who have appeared for the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (C-TET) will also be available in digital format. The results will be declared on Tuesday.

“This will help in curbing forgery of education credentials. The menace of fake certificates can be controlled through this,” Sibal said, giving a lowdown on the process of verifying digital certificates. The minister said the recent instances of fake certificates that plagued Delhi University can be tackled easily through this measure. In June, Delhi University authorities found that a number of students had submitted fake certificates while seeking admissions under a certain quota.

The Central Depository Services India Ltd. (CDSL) and the National Securities Depository Ltd. (NSDL) helped CBSE conduct the pilot. “It was done by both the depositories with no initial cost to the ministry. It will remain free for CBSE for next three months; but after that it has to pay certain fees,” Sibal explained.

CBSE Chairperson Vineet Joshi said the depository will make it easier for employers and educational institutes to verify the credentials of prospective workers and students. It will also help do away with the fear of losing physical certificates. According to CRP HR Services, a background screening firm based in Mumbai, discrepancies are found in 15% of the education credentials submitted by aspiring job seekers.

“We are also moving a Bill on this (the depository) in the coming Parliament session (that begins on 1 August),” Sibal said. Once the Bill is passed, it will mandate digitizing all educational certificates of school boards, colleges and universities. “The depositories will be soon deploying their own agents. Anyone can approach them for digitizing, but these agencies will first verify whether their certificates are original or fake,” Joshi said.

Source: Mint, July 26, 2011

Forging academic certificates may attract stiff penalties

Faking academic certificates may soon attract a fine of up to Rs.10 crore (Rs. 100 million) and a jail term of up to 10 years under a draft law to build an online depository of certificates issued by all recognized educational institutions in India. Currently, people who run rackets offering counterfeit certificates, institute officials who help them, and students who procure them face just a few months’ imprisonment and a few thousand rupees as a fine. Though no statistics are available, officials of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), which oversees education in India, say the incidence of forging academic certificates has increased with improving technology.

According to First Advantage Pvt. Ltd, a background screening firm, at least 15% of resumes they checked last year had false information, creating the need for such a database, as reported by Mint on 25 March. The Bill to create a National Academic Depository, likely to be tabled in Parliament in a couple of months, will include provisions to give stringent punishment to those who forge certificates, two ministry officials said. “Any forgery of certificates will cost an institute management or a group of people jail term up to 10 years. The management can also get a penalty of up to Rs. 10 crore, or both, for doing this illegal activity”, one official said.

More than 22,000 recognized colleges, 470 universities, thousands of technical institutes, and school boards across the country will be able to submit copies of the certificates they have issued to build the academic e-depository.
They will be charged for the service. The move will allow institutions and offices to check the academic history of those who apply for admissions or jobs for a fee. Students, too, will no longer have to worry about losing or misplacing their certificates, the official said. For a nominal charge, they will have lifelong access to the online certificates from anywhere in the world. Around 2.54 million students earn a graduate or post-graduate degree every year, in addition to 9.5 million students who clear their secondary school examinations.

“We have now invited suggestions (regarding the draft law) from various stakeholders, including central government departments, and after getting their input, we will go ahead with the provisions”, another ministry official said.

The National Academic Depository will be maintained by one of the two depository managers that are registered with markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India, National Securities Depository Ltd. and Central Depository Services (India) Ltd. The depository managers will be responsible for ensuring the sanctitiy of the certificates, and any interpolation — even on accout of a technical glitch — can attract a fine of up to Rs. 50,00,000, MHRD officials said.

Article by Prashant K. Nanda in Mint, June 14, 2010

Forging academic certificates may attract stiff penalties

Faking academic certificates may soon attract a fine of up to Rs.10 crore (Rs. 100 million) and a jail term of up to 10 years under a draft law to build an online depository of certificates issued by all recognized educational institutions in India. Currently, people who run rackets offering counterfeit certificates, institute officials who help them, and students who procure them face just a few months’ imprisonment and a few thousand rupees as a fine. Though no statistics are available, officials of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), which oversees education in India, say the incidence of forging academic certificates has increased with improving technology.

According to First Advantage Pvt. Ltd, a background screening firm, at least 15% of resumes they checked last year had false information, creating the need for such a database, as reported by Mint on 25 March. The Bill to create a National Academic Depository, likely to be tabled in Parliament in a couple of months, will include provisions to give stringent punishment to those who forge certificates, two ministry officials said. “Any forgery of certificates will cost an institute management or a group of people jail term up to 10 years. The management can also get a penalty of up to Rs. 10 crore, or both, for doing this illegal activity”, one official said.

More than 22,000 recognized colleges, 470 universities, thousands of technical institutes, and school boards across the country will be able to submit copies of the certificates they have issued to build the academic e-depository.
They will be charged for the service. The move will allow institutions and offices to check the academic history of those who apply for admissions or jobs for a fee. Students, too, will no longer have to worry about losing or misplacing their certificates, the official said. For a nominal charge, they will have lifelong access to the online certificates from anywhere in the world. Around 2.54 million students earn a graduate or post-graduate degree every year, in addition to 9.5 million students who clear their secondary school examinations.

“We have now invited suggestions (regarding the draft law) from various stakeholders, including central government departments, and after getting their input, we will go ahead with the provisions”, another ministry official said.

The National Academic Depository will be maintained by one of the two depository managers that are registered with markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India, National Securities Depository Ltd. and Central Depository Services (India) Ltd. The depository managers will be responsible for ensuring the sanctitiy of the certificates, and any interpolation — even on accout of a technical glitch — can attract a fine of up to Rs. 50,00,000, MHRD officials said.

Article by Prashant K. Nanda in Mint, June 14, 2010