Jamia hosts workshop on digital academic depositories in universities

The initiative will on the pattern of securities depository wherein students will be able to access their certificates, marksheets and other documents

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has re-emphasised the Central government’s plan to establish a digital depository of academic awards to be known as National Academic Depository (NAD) for students across the country. The NAD will be on the pattern of securities depository allowing students to access their certificates, mark sheets and other documents. Addressing the participants in the inaugural session of a national regional training workshop at Jamia Millia Islamia in the Capital on October 7, Mamta R Agarwal, joint secretary, UGC, said, “Academic awards are to be stored in digital depositary exactly like shares. Students can access their certificates 24x7. I request your cooperation in making digital depository a reality to bring in transparency. All stakeholders, including students and universities, are to benefit from it.”

Students can access their certificates 24x7 through the National Academic Depository. (Istock)

NAD – a step towards the Digital India vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi – an initiative of the ministry of human resource development, was launched by Prakash Javedekar, union HRD minister, on September 9, 2016.

Delivering the keynote address on the occasion, Professor Talat Ahmad, vice chancellor, JMI, termed NAD as an important and much-needed development in the country.

“The digitalised process will help students to access their degrees without hassle. And as degrees pile up and offices get overcrowded with files, the digitisation is a wonderful idea that needs to be accomplished. We know it is going to be very useful to students and turn out to be a foolproof system,” Prof Ahmad said.

The NAD would help in validating the authenticity of these awards and ensuring their safe storage and easy retrieval. Maintaining academic awards in a digital depository would provide benefit to educational institutions, students and employers by enabling online access and retrieval; eliminate fraudulent practices such as forging of certificates and mark-sheets and facilitate validation.