'DU to test applicants' edu certificates forensically from this year'

The Delhi University has decided to put the marksheets and other academic documents of students seeking admission to its colleges to forensic test this year.

The varsity took the decision in the run-up to the start of admission process from Thursday.

The University gave the direction to various colleges for forensic test of applicants' documents Tuesday after a meeting of its admission committee.

The varsity will also provide colleges a list of empanelled agencies from where they can have the documents checked forensically.

The varsity's admission committee, however, is yet to finalise the agency to hold the entrance tests for admission to its various courses, said officials, attributing it to the delay in the start of the admission process.

A meeting, however, is scheduled with the National Testing Agency officials on Wednesday, and the task is likely to be assigned to the NTA, he added.

The varsity is also contemplating to issue smart identity cards to its students from this year.

"Till now, different colleges issued different identity cards. From this year, the identity cards will look similar but have the name of the individual colleges stamped on it," he said.

Some colleges in the past issued identity cards to their students over six months after the admission, so a need to introduce smart I-card has been felt, he added.

The university has also tied up with the Central Board of Secondary Education this year to gain direct access to the class 12 results of students.

This would enable the university to directly check the authenticity of mark sheets of the applicants claiming to have passed out from a CBSE-affiliated school.

"More than 80 per cent of the students applying to the varsity for admissions are from the CBSE and we will have to carry out examination of documents of the remaining 20 per cent of the students. In case documents submitted by a student is found fake, a case will be filed with police," the official said.

Last year, the Delhi Police had registered an FIR against former Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) president Baisoya for allegedly furnishing fake mark sheet to get admission in the Delhi University.