UGC favours issuing mark sheet with photo of student by varsities

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked all universities to consider issuing mark sheet with the photograph of the student to check duplication of final year marks statements.

Mumbai University is set to issue mark sheets with photographs of students on them. The document will also have a number of security features like hologram and water mark.
The higher education regulator has suggested to vice chancellors of other universities to adopt the Mumbai University model, while appreciating the initiative taken by the latter.

“The commission appreciates this initiative of the university which shall help in eliminating duplicity of mark sheets. The other universities may also consider adopting this feature along with other security features to bring about uniformity and transparency within the system,” UGC secretary Jaspal S Sandhu said in his letter to varsity heads recently.

The UGC move follows a recommendation by Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP Anil Desai.
In his letter to UGC Chairman Ved Prakash in July, Desai said: “The purpose of incorporating photograph is to bring in a transparent and foolproof system and enable easy verification by various authorities and prospective employers,” he said, suggesting that other higher educational institutions in the country could also adopt it to check duplication of mark sheets.

Two years ago, the Mumbai university did away with plain mark sheets and opted for a rainbow colour scheme citing security measures after cases were lodged against more than 600 students for producing fake certificates between 2006 and 2009.“The plain mark sheets did not have a distinguishing feature and lacked security codes. The new seven-colour scheme is unique. It has seven security features incorporated in the mark sheets to avoid duplication.