Aadhaar cards to be linked with university degrees, certificates

New Delhi: In an attempt to prevent forgery of university degrees and certificates in future, the University Grants Commission (UGC) is planning to link the Aadhaar card number and print the student’s photograph on the degree/certificate from next year.

The proposal is currently under consideration by the ministry of human resource development (MHRD). If the proposal gets approved, the commission would issue directions to the universities and educational institutions for the same by next year.

“After receiving fraud degree-related complaints, the MHRD had sought suggestions from the UGC to tackle this issue. So, in the beginning of this month, the commission suggested a proposal of printing the Aadhaar card number and photograph of the student mandatorily on the degrees,” he said.

As per the proposal, having an Aadhar card number will not only prevent forgery, but will also make it easier to store the degrees in a digital format in the National Academic Depositary (NAD).

 “The students will then just have to mention their Aadhaar card number, after which they will be able to access the degree/certificate from anywhere. If the experiment is successful for the universities, then the same will be implemented for Class 10 and 12,” the source added.