Indore: After degree certificates, Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (DAVV) is planning to incorporate advanced security features including photographs, Aadhaar numbers of students and QR code in mark sheets to check counterfeiting. “Besides security features, our mark sheet paper will be non-tearable and water proof like we have started using in degree certificates,” vice chancellor Dr Narendra Dhakad said.

The announcement came on directives by Chancellor Anandiben Patel who during a recent convocation of DAVV had stated that quality of academic certificate should be improved and bar coding should be done to check duplicacy. The UGC had also given similar directives but the university never complied with it. In a letter addressed to VCs, including Dhakad, UGC had asked to introduce security features in mark sheets and certificates issued by university to students enrolled in different programmes of study.

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DAVV’s headache

Due to lack of security features in the academic documents, education institutions and prospective employers are finding it difficult to check authenticity of academic documents issued by DAVV. Prospective employers send copies of job applicants’ mark sheets, which are printed on plain paper, to university for verification. The university employees have to manually match the documents with records available with them.

Rainbow colour printing, watermarks and penetrating numbering are technologies that can prevent duplication. No local printer can produce counterfeit documents if these technologies are used. Mark sheets with security features will allow educational institutions and prospective employers to easily check their authenticity without having to consult certificate-issuing authorities.