Staff Reporter:
The Election Commission (EC) has made it mandatory to attach Secondary School Certificate (SSC) or equivalent certificates to the database during voter registration to ensure accuracy in personal infor-mation.
The directive was issued yesterday in an office order signed by Director (Operations) of the National Identity Registration Wing of the EC, Md Saiful Islam.
According to the order sent to all upazila and thana election registration officers across the country, SSC or equivalent certificates are often required to verify information-particularly dates of birth-when resolv-ing applications for corrections in National Identity (NID) cards.
It said that recently it has been observed that in some cases SSC or equivalent certificates are not being attached to the database, even when applicants have secondary or higher educational qualifications. This creates complications in verifying information during NID correction processes and makes decision-making difficult.
It also said that in some instances applicants deny their educational qualifications despite the existence of proof copies, leading to unexpected situations between officials and applicants, which tarnish the image of the Election Commission.
In this context, the EC has instructed that if a registered person has passed secondary or higher levels, the concerned registration officers must ensure that SSC or equivalent certificates, including date of birth, are mandatorily attached to the database during registration.
For individuals with higher qualifications-such as Higher Secondary, undergraduate, postgraduate, MPhil or PhD-their SSC or equivalent certificate must also be included in the database.
Besides, hard copies of the SSC or equivalent certificate, along with the highest educational qualifica-tion, registration form, birth certificate and other relevant documents, must be preserved at the respec-tive offices.
District Election Officers and Regional Election Officers have been instructed to monitor the implemen-tation of the directive through inspections and random checks.
