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Beginning this year, the SSLC board plans to issue barcoded, tamper-proof certificates and documents to students

The Secondary School Leaving Certificate or SSLC is perhaps the most important document for an individual. It’s pretty much the cornerstone of one’s identity as almost every authority relies on this document to establish, apart from other things, one’s age.

It’s not surprising that this document is a prime target of forgers. The SSLC board has been trying to protect marks cards and certificates from forgers and had incorporated a number of features to ensure a tamper-proof document. Despite this, there were complaints of tampering. Now, the board may have finally hit on the means of making the document tamper-proof.
 
The Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB), which conducts the Tenth Standard examination, has decided to issue 2D (two dimensional) marks cards and certificates from this academic year onwards. The document would carry a 2D barcode which would not only be difficult to forge, but also provide details of the student with just a click of a mouse. What is more, Bangalore University also plans to follow suit.
 
KSEEB director D Venkateshaiah said, “This will ensure that each marks card is unique. Every marks card will be embossed with this barcode which will contain all vital information such as name of the student, his or her marks in each subject, overall percentage, father’s name and even school address. Not just that, it will also have the student’s photograph so if anyone wants to conduct a check on the genuineness of the marks card, it can be done by just a click of a mouse.”
 
The KSEEB receives more than 100 enquiries every day on the genuineness of marks cards. The board charges a fee of Rs 100 for verification of each card as the data has to be checked with original documents stored in a strong room. The board maintains documents of students going back to 1916 here. But with the 2D feature, anyone with a barcode reader can verify documents.
 
More than 8.39 lakh students will appear for the tenth standard exams beginning on April 2 in the state this year. Barcoded marks cards will be handed out to all these students.
 
Venkateshaiah revealed that the 2D marks card has a number of advantages over current ones. 2D barcodes store data along two dimensions, horizontal and vertical, and are therefore capable of storing more information. Moreover, all traditional barcodes have to go through some sort of central authority for ISBN registration and anyone wanting to verify or scan it, had to purchase specialised hardware laser readers. However, with 2D barcodes, any type of data can be encoded independent of a central registry. Reports suggest that many recruiting firms are investing in 2D bar code scanners which can easily read a 2D barcode.
 
For both BU and the KSEEB, providing tamper-proof marks cards has always been a challenge. A few years ago, city police had stumbled on a fake marks cards racket that was being run by a group comprising students, a lecturer, a former superintendent of Bangalore University, a screen printer and a realtor. This group was selling fake marks cards for as much as Rs 1 lakh. But now, such incidents could well be a thing of the past.