All-purpose ID cards for KU students

By G. Mahadevan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JUNE 9. The Kerala University has decided to issue identity cards to all its students in a phased manner.

According to sources in the university, the first cards will be issued to students of various post-graduate courses in the affiliated colleges. The software necessary for the creation of such a card is being given the finishing touches at the university's Computer Centre.

After discussions among top officials of the university, the proposal for instituting an identity card was circulated among selected college principals. The formal decision to have a student identity card was taken after it was found that the proposal went down well with all who were consulted.

In addition to having the student's photograph, name, college and course, the card will also have vital information such as blood group and address to be contacted in case of an emergency. Each student will be given a unique identity number which will contain coded information regarding course, subject and college of study.

When the software is ready, the university will send it to all affiliated colleges and departments where, at the time of admission, the necessary data base of the students will be generated. This will then be sent to the Computer Centre where the actual card-making process will be initiated. Each card will then be laminated and sent back to the colleges for distribution.

The main advantage of such a card is that the academic history of each student of the Kerala can be accessed at the click of a button. Once the networking of the various departments of the university gets completed, details such as the course, college, exam fees paid/not paid and examinations written can be shared by various sections of the university.

Once the card is instituted, the university officials also hope to curb the practice by certain private colleges of admitting more students to courses than the number of seats allowed for the same. Once each student is given a card, it will be a simple matter for the university to verify whether colleges are following the rules and regulations regarding number of seats for each course.

Using the identity number of a candidate, in tandem with the soon-to-be-introduced interactive voice response system, an employer would be able to verify the academic background of a candidate, including the marks scored in various examinations. The identity card would also come handy for student who wants to, say, get a certificate issued or a mark list readied some years after he or she passes out of the university.

After the PG students, it will be the turn of the students of the first semester engineering courses to receive the university's identity cards. Though the exact amount is yet to be decided, a fee will be charged from each student for the issue of the identity cards.

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Section  : Southern States
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