State's clever move: Smart cards to curb fake degrees

Mumbai: The state government plans to provide smart cards to university graduates to curb the menace of fake degree certificates. It will also introduce a bill to prevent the mushrooming of unauthorised universities in the state.Also, in a step to restrict the ad-hoc mushrooming of unauthorised institutions, the government has drafted the prevention of unauthorised institutions bill.

Higher and technical education minister Rajesh Tope mooted the idea of smart cards in the legislative council on Thursday.He announced the measure given 1,134 cases of fake degree certificates coming to light since February this year — in two months. This was said in response to MLC Bhagwan Salunkhe’s query if the government had any system to verify the degree certificates.

Tope said the government or the universities have no such facility, but if a demand is made by the graduates’ employers, the universities will do the needful.But, for the future, he said a more foolproof plan was in motion.“All universities in the state would be directed about smart cards which will keep a check on bogus certificates and degrees by the graduates,” Tope said.