The Election Commission has made it mandatory to attach Secondary School Certificate (SSC) or equivalent certificates to the database during voter registration to ensure accuracy of personal information.
The directive was issued on Wednesday through an office order signed by Md Saiful Islam, Director (Operations) of the National Identity Registration Wing of the EC.
According to the order sent to all upazila and thana election registration officers, SSC or equivalent certificates are often required to verify information, particularly dates of birth, when processing applications for corrections in National Identity cards.
The order said recent observations found that in some cases SSC or equivalent certificates were not being attached to the database, even when applicants had secondary or higher educational qualifications. This creates complications in verifying information during NID correction processes and makes decision-making difficult.
It also noted that in some instances applicants deny their educational qualifications despite the existence of proof documents. This leads to unexpected situations between officials and applicants and affects the image of the Election Commission.
In this context, the EC has instructed that if a registered person has passed secondary or higher levels, 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.
The order further said hard copies of the SSC or equivalent certificate, along with the highest educational qualification, registration form, birth certificate and other relevant documents, must be preserved at the respective offices.
District and Regional Election Officers have been directed to monitor the implementation of the instruction through inspections and random checks.
