The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Biometric fingerprinting for CAT

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Sunday, Jun 26, 2011
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Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

Biometric fingerprinting for CAT

G. Krishnakumar

KOCHI: The Cochin University of Science and Technology is planning to introduce biometric fingerprinting of candidates appearing for the Common Entrance Test (CAT) for admission to the B.Tech and other programmes from the next academic year to check malpractices.

Reliable sources in the university told The Hindu on Saturday that three companies had submitted their proposals for introducing biometric fingerprinting. A final decision on the technology to be adopted to prevent impersonation and other malpractices will be taken by the university Syndicate.

Sources said that the proposed biometric reading device would take the thumb impressions and photographs of candidates before they enter the examination hall at different centres in the country.

This would be matched with the fingerprint of the candidate who appears for the counselling for admission held on the university campus in Kochi.

The International Relations and Academic Admissions (IRAA) wing of the university has stepped up vigil after it was found that two students from North India had tried to secure B.Tech admission this year through impersonation.

The fraud was exposed after the teacher, who was on invigilation duty at the examination centre at Kolkatta, found that the photographs of the person who wrote the examination and the candidate who appeared for the counselling conducted in Kochi did not match.

The teacher had taken the photograph of the person who wrote the examination on a mobile phone after suspecting impersonation attempt. When the ‘original' candidate appeared for the counselling, the teacher compared the photographs and confirmed cheating by impersonation.

University officials said that it was really difficult to check cases of impersonation by matching the photographs submitted by the candidate and the one clicked at the examination centre.

The university had deployed 1,700 invigilators for about 34,000 students who appeared for CAT held in 86 centres this year.

The invigilators often found it difficult to ascertain the identity of the candidates appearing at the examination centre.

They also refrain from registering cases of impersonation with the local police especially in centres located in North India considering the protracted legal hassles it might create in the future.

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