Students of the upcoming O/Level examination will be sitting for the exams using a national identity paper instead of a National Identity Card (NIC), causing concern among officials, The Sunday Morning learns.
It is learnt that the postal ID used by students below the age of obtaining the NIC (16) is no longer valid for public exams, with only the NIC (or the recently-issued identity paper), a valid passport, or a valid driver’s licence being the accepted identity documents.
When The Sunday Morning spoke to National Institute of Education (NIE) Director Dr. Sunil Jayantha Nawaratne, he stated that the identity paper would be valid and accepted at all exam centres and those carrying it would be allowed to enter the exam halls.
When asked about the security threat of forgery and impersonation, he said that as students would know each other from school, they would know if there was an imposter in the hall and bring it to the attention of the exam supervisor.
Responding to a question about the status of private applicants who were placed in varying exam centres, he said: “There is a risk factor there, which we are trying to minimise. The identity paper has a photo of the holder, but if there was a barcode in the identity paper, we could have used a barcode reader to authenticate the applicant. However, this is the system given to us and we have to change according to the times,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Education Investigation Officer P.S.P. Peiris stated that while having a barcode in the identity paper would be helpful, it would be an expensive change to make in time for the next exam as exam centres were not equipped with barcode readers.
“The paper ID issued by the ID office is valid and accepted at exam centres. However, before issuing results, we request all paper ID holders to come either to the Isurupaya Investigation Department or, depending on the number, we visit a region on a particular day. We issue exam results only after authenticating the name and details, such as photograph, signature, etc..”
The Sunday Morning learnt that a batch of students first used the paper ID for O/Level exams about two years ago, which means the issue will also carry over to next year’s A/Level exam as the same batch will be facing the exams.
“As far as I know, if the paper ID is lost or damaged beyond recognition, the ID office will not be issuing a new one, so there will be a problem for the students next year,” he said.
No cards for driver’s licence
A highly-placed official at the Department of Motor Traffic stated that while there were around 700,000 licence applications to be printed, stocks of only around 400,000 cards were available at the moment.
“We issue less than 300 cards a day for various special reasons but we will soon run out of stocks. A new consignment of licence cards with printed QR codes have been imported with the intention of issuing them once the existing stocks end, but this is yet to be approved. Also, to begin a QR code-based card, the entire system will need to change and the process for that has not even been started yet,” he said.
While Cabinet approval for a digital driver’s licence with a QR code was given last October with instructions for an in-depth study into the matter and for relevant technical and expert committees to be informed in this regard, no development has been reported in this regard so far.
Meanwhile, a retired officer from the Department of Motor Traffic, speaking on terms of anonymity, stated that the issuance of driving licences happened on a small scale on a daily basis.
“Around 100 cards are issued for those who come early every day. For others, the temporary licence (paper) is issued, which is valid for a period of one year, by which time their licence (card) will be posted to them. In the event the licence is not received, the temporary licence can be extended.”
He explained that the issuance of paper licences had come about during the Covid pandemic and due to the dollar shortage as the cards on which licences were printed were imported from Germany. He also said those expecting to go abroad could obtain a card licence.
“Card licences are issued for those going abroad. It will be given on the spot [one-day service] for licence renewals, provided copies of the passport, visa, and air ticket are produced. If it’s a new licence, they must wait for three months after the written exam in order to get a practical exam date and once they pass it after producing the above details, they can obtain a card licence. This is, of course, provided that the person has completed 18 years of age.”
Attempts to contact Minister of Transport and Highways Dr. Bandula Gunawardena failed.