Kulkarni also said that while the two documents — marksheet and certificate — will be merged into a single document, it will be issued in A4 size to ensure ease of storage and record-keeping, as that is generally the size used for files.
In a major reform aimed at enhancing security and ease of verification, the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) has decided to merge the marksheet and certificate into a single document, embedding student photographs for the first time, along with a unique QR code for instant verification through the state board’s official app.
Until now, the conventional practice involved issuing two separate documents — the marksheet at the time of the result, and the certificate after a gap of six months. Neither document carried the student’s photograph or a unique QR code that could provide access to the student’s complete board exam record.
In a separate change, the candidate’s name printed on the marksheet-cum-certificate will now follow the format on the Aadhaar card, replacing the earlier practice of starting with the surname, followed by the student’s name and then the father’s name.
Confirming the decision, Chairman of MSBSHSE, Trigun Kulkarni, said, “All these changes have been pending to take shape for some time at the state board. Having photo of the candidate on marksheet-cum-certificate will ensure clarity in identification. Whereas with the unique QR code anybody will be able to verify the marksheet-cum-certificate to be genuine document. Any individual can scan this QR code from the official mobile application of the Maharashtra State Board to verify the student’s marks in the system. This not only makes verification easy, as opposed to the existing practice of having to approach the board, it completely eliminates the possibility of having fake marksheets.”
This comes as an important update for lakhs of students across Maharashtra who recently finished their Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams conducted by the Maharashtra State Board. This will be the first batch to receive the new marksheet-cum-certificate. This year, as the Maharashtra State Board exams concluded earlier in March, over 15 lakh students appeared for the HSC, while over 16.5 lakh students appeared for the SSC.
Kulkarni also said that while the two documents — marksheet and certificate — will be merged into a single document, it will be issued in A4 size to ensure ease of storage and record-keeping, as that is generally the size used for files.
About the decision to change the format in which a candidate’s name is printed on the marksheet-cum-certificate, Kulkarni said, “Government has already issued guidelines on this as differences between the name format on Board marksheet and AADHAR cards were causing technical issues.”
Story continues below this ad
As the Maharashtra State Board already collects photographs of students at the time of application — which are printed on the candidate’s hall ticket — there is no requirement to collect them separately. However, circulars have been issued to school principals to verify that the candidate’s name and photograph are correct. A facility has been made available on the official website of the Maharashtra State Board for schools to make corrections in both photographs and names.
The new system is also expected to reduce the total expenditure incurred by the Maharashtra State Board on printing marksheets and certificates. As both documents are being merged into a single one, there will be a substantial reduction in costs, and tenders have been issued for the new process.
