IIT, IIM students can now self-attest certificate copies

Students aspiring for admission to IITs, IIMs or central universities need not scout for a gazetted officer anymore to get copies of their certificates attested as the HRD ministry has asked institutes under it to accept self-attested documents.

The move which brings to an end the age-old practice and provides a much needed relief to students, has come into effect from this session, ministry officials said.

The original documents will have to be produced only at the time of admission, they said.

The development comes in wake of a directive from the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pension which had asked various ministries and departments to examine the proposal.

Terming the method as "citizen friendly", it said "obtaining either an attested copy or affidavit not only costs money but also involves wastage of time of the citizens and the government officials".

In fact, the Second Administrative Reforms Commission in its 12th report titled 'Citizen Centric Administration' — the Heart of Governance', had recommended adoption of self-certification provision for simplifying procedures.

Students especially in rural areas stand to immensely benefit from it along with those who face difficulty in finding an officer to get the photo copies of their certificates attested.

Often, students also fall prey to scrupulous elements who make a kill by getting the copies attested at a premium, officials said, adding instructions have been issued to the institutes to examine the documents carefully.

Some ministries and state governments have already adopted the provision of self certification of documents like marksheet, birth certificate etc by the applicants, stakeholders instead of asking for an attested copy of the documents by a gazetted officer or filing of an affidavit.

Under the self-attestation method, the original documents are required to be produced at the final stage.

Officials in the HRD ministry said institutes at the state level would be requested to adopt the new practice keeping overall interest of students in mind.