01 September,2014 03:15 PM IST | | Shreya Bhandary
Maharashtra State Board for Secondary and Higher Secondary Education is planning to digitise all the information of students’ marksheets to make the process of acquiring a duplicate copy simpler
Duplicate marksheet
As the requests for duplicate marksheets, sometimes for certificates as old as 40 years, continues unabated, the Maharashtra State Board for Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) is now planning to digitise the entire process. The board has decided to start transferring information of marksheets from hard copies into computers to make the process of handing out documents faster and hassle free.
Prone to manipulation: Applicants are finding it difficult to use duplicate marksheets as many institutes question the authenticity of these certificates
The task, however, is not going to be an easy one. MSBSHSE was established in 1966, and has information of every student from the time of its inception. The Mumbai divisional board office in Vashi, which receives the maximum number of requests for duplicate marksheets, sometimes gets requests for copies as old as 1975.
"Most requests for old certificates are from families compiling documents to prove the age of a deceased member. As everything is on paper and files, it sometimes becomes difficult to look up information. We hope once the process is digitised, it would become easier for us to look up and provide the information," said Laxmikant Pande, chairman of the Mumbai division. At present, all documents are stashed away in their storeroom, and any untoward accident can destroy these files.
"It is astounding that we get 50-100 applications in the Mumbai division every day. Between March and August, the number goes up even more, especially for students who gave their exams in the Oct-November session," he added.
