Effectiveness of QR Code : University of Mumbai degrees will now come with QR codes
In a bid to crack down on
fake degree certificates and hasten the degree verification process, the
University of Mumbai (MU) will now print Quick Response (QR) codes on degrees.
The move will allow employers
and educational institutes to immediately verify the authenticity of varsity
degrees by scanning the QR code, through a smartphone application. It will not
only save the time of students — the current verification process takes
anywhere between five days to a month — but also provide some relief to the
MU’s examination department, which is burdened with an estimated 250
verification requests every month.
“We will start printing QR
codes on degrees from the current academic year,” said MA Khan, MU registrar.
The decision comes at a time
when the university is reeling under the problem of fake degrees and mark
sheets. In August 2015, a Right to Information (RTI) had revealed that MU had
detected more than 900 fake degrees between academic years 2012-13 and 2015-16,
with the university receiving an average 34 fake degrees every month in the
last academic year.
When MU graduates apply for a
job or higher education in India as well as abroad, they are required to furnish
their degree certificates. These certificates are then verified by varsity
officials by comparing their entries with the official record. Wasave said the
varsity has also decided to develop a mobile application to scan the QR code.
“Once scanned, the code will provide a link to all the records of the graduate.
The employers will be able to verify the degrees themselves,” said.
Currently, those seeking
verification can apply online on MU’s website. While the degrees of those who
have graduated recently are processed within five days, the verification
process of older certificates takes longer.
An official from the
examination department said the new initiative will drastically reduce the cost
of verification and take some work off the table of a staff-crunched
examination department.
The department, which handles
some of the most crucial and sensitive responsibilities of MU, has been
notoriously slow when it comes to adapting new technology. Nevertheless,
following some major goof-ups in recent years, the department has taken some
strides in the digital area, including electronic delivery of question papers
to colleges.
Source | Hindustan Times | 11 January 2017
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Pralhad
Jadhav
Senior
Manager @ Library
Khaitan & Co
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