Pride and ecstasy fill students as DU confers special currency like degrees with mother’s name on 100th convocation

New Delhi, Feb 24 (PTI) In a first, the Delhi University on Saturday conferred over one lakh students with special degree certificates with prominence given to their mother’s name besides heightened ‘currency like’ security features at the 100th convocation ceremony of the varsity.

Clad in traditional Indian attire and newly designed handloom fabric angvastras (stole), the students received the special degree with 17 security features at the centenary year of the Delhi University.

“It is a historic moment for me. Getting my degree at the 100th convocation ceremony of the Delhi University is like a dream come true. The security features added in the new degrees is a very good step taken by the university. We don’t have to worry about its security or durability,” Sandeep Sharma, a PhD holder from DU’s History department, told PTI.

“It is a special experience. The initiative taken by the Delhi University to secure degree certificates will benefit the students in many ways,” added Bhavana Bansal Gupta, a teaching faculty at Miranda House college, who received her PhD degree during the event.

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar presided over the 100th annual convocation of the varsity and awarded the degree certificates to the students during the event.

Applauding the changes introduced in the degree certificates, Dhankhar said, “What a monumental event. The degree awarded to the students will have a host of new embellishments. Most impactful being the students mother’s name and the student’s coloured photograph.”

During the ceremony, the postgraduate students were seen wearing gold-bordered turquoise stoles featuring the university’s logo and Shatabdi logo on both sides.

The undergraduate students donned yellow stoles, while Ph.D, Doctorate of Medicine and Master of Chirurgiae students pulled on red stoles.

Starting this year, the Delhi University’s degrees will be embellished with the student’s mother’s name printed on the top of the degree along with a colour photograph of the student.

These degrees have been equipped with about 17 security features, including micro-text, hidden image, invisible ink logo, barcode and QR code to avoid duplication or forgery.

This is the first batch to receive DU’s special degree certificates, according to the varsity officials.

1,38,020 students, including 58,545 male and 79,475 female, were awarded degrees during the event of which 1,30,697 are undergraduate, 7,323 postgraduate and 659 PhD students.