Original papers not needed for admission

In what comes as a huge relief to the students, HRD minister Prakash Javedkar issued a notification on Thursday stating that there is no need to submit original documents during admissions. According to the minister, the University Grants Commission (UGC) notification on Refund of Fees and Non Retention of Original Certificates is being brought out for the facilitation of the students.

The notification stated, “No student will be required to submit any original academic and personal certificates like marksheets, school leaving certificates, etc., at the time of submission of the admission form. In case they are required, the institution will only ensure verification of the same with the original certificates and these certificates shall be returned to the students immediately. No institution can keep any original certificate in their custody.”

The minister stated that the notification is an effort to help students, who have been facing problems during admissions due to coercive and profiteering institutional practices.

He further said, “The students of our country were facing several problems during admissions, due to coercive and profiteering institutional practices being adopted by some institutions.”

The notification further said that the institute will be required to refund the fees, in case a student withdraws from the programme. Also the higher educational institutions can charge fees in advance only for the semester/year in which a student wants to engage in academic activities. Collecting advance fees for the entire programme of study is prohibited.