NAD BILL PROPOSED BY HRD

All educational institutions — schools to universities — will have to mandatorily lodge the academic records (certificates and marksheets of class 10, 12, graduation, etc) of their students with a National Academic Depository (NAD) proposed to be set up through an Act of Parliament.

The HRD ministry’s National Academic Depository Bill, seeking to establish and maintain a national database of academic records in an electronic format, has been circulated for further consultation. Once it is set up, the NAD will be able to curb frauds like forging of certificates and marksheets and help the institutions by reducing their burden of preserving the academic records.

The Bill proposes that the National Academic Depository (NAD) — to be appointed by the government — will have to provide online access or a physical copy of the authenticated certificate within three days of request to individuals or companies. An academic institution will have to pay a registration fee to NAD and also annual charge for the maintenance of the records.