Students in colleges and institutions affiliated to the Mahatma Gandhi University will not have to stand in serpentine queues to pay fees or apply for equivalence/eligibility certificates from November 1 onwards.
The varsity’s e-payment initiative, which aims at switching all services offered to students into the digital mode, will be rolled out on Kerala Formation Day. In the first phase of the ambitious IT drive, payment of fees for various purposes will be made online.
“Students may make the payments using debit or credit cards or through internet bank accounts. For those who cannot make the payments online, arrangements have been made to remit the fee at post offices from November 1. The budgetary proposals related to e-payment and digital delivery of various services are now turning into a reality,” said K. Sherafudeen, Syndicate member and convener of its finance committee.
Eligibility certificate
The varsity has decided to provide eligibility/equivalence certificates online. Students need to submit the applications online after making the e-payment. They will get an alert on their mobile phones once they submit the application. They will be alerted once the varsity delivers the certificate online.
Mr. Sherafudeen said the submission of applications for exams, revaluation and original degree certificates would be made online in the next phase of the project.
The varsity’s internal IT wing, which is spearheading the implementation of the project, has completed the processes required for providing the equivalence certificate online.
Teachers and varsity employees will now be able to check their PF balance online from the first week of November as part of the new digital initiatives. They will be given a code, which can be used to check the balance online.
Life certificate
The varsity has also joined the Centre’s Jeevan Pramaan scheme, an Aadhaar-based Digital Life Certificate for pensioners.
A pensioner can now digitally provide proof of his existence to authorities for continuity of pension every year instead of requiring to present himself physically or through a life certificate issued by specified authorities.
The Department of Electronics and IT has developed a software application which will enable the recording of the pensioner’s Aadhaar number and biometric details from his or her mobile device or computer, by plugging in a biometric reading device.
Key details of the pensioner, and biometric information, will be uploaded to a central database on real-time basis, ultimately enabling the pension disbursing agency to access a Digital Life Certificate.
