Original lost in floods, no fee to be charged for first duplicate certificates

In a major relief to students affected by recent flashfloods and heavy rain, the HP Board of School Education on Tuesday announced that it would not charge any fee for issuing the first duplicate certificate to candidates, who had lost their original documents during the calamity.

According to an official notification issued by the Board Secretary, Dr (Major) Vishal Sharma, the Chairman of the board had approved the exemption as a special welfare measure. The decision comes after several candidates reported that they had lost their certificates in the unprecedented disaster that struck the state.

To avail of the facility, the candidates would be required to fill a prescribed application form for a duplicate certificate along with a loss verification certificate issued by the competent authorities such as the Disaster Management Department, Deputy Commissioner, SDM, Tehsildar or Naib Tehsildar.

The waiver is expected to benefit a large number of students in the state who had lost their academic records due to the calamity.