DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF STUDENT ADMISSION AND

DOCUMENT VERIFICATION SYSTEM

BY

OSUJI COVENANT IWUNNA

2018030186952

A PROJECT IN THE DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

FACULTY OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES (FANS).
ENUGU STATE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(ESUT), ENUGU.

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR AWARD OF

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (B. Sc) HONOUR DEGREE
(COMPUTER SCIENCE)

OCT, 2023

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 CERTIFICATION
I hereby declare that this work “Design and implementation of student admission and document
verification system” is the product of my research effort, undertaken under the supervision of
Mr. MR NDUBUISI NGENE has not been presented elsewhere for the award of the degree
diploma or any other certificate.

__________________________________
_____________________

OSUJI COVENANT IWUNNA Date

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 APPROVAL PAGE
We hereby certify that this project title “Design and implementation of student admission and
document verification system” presented by OSUJI COVENANT IWUNNA with
Registration Number 2018030186952 is worthy of acceptance in Partial fulfillment of the
requirement for the award of Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Computer Science

Mr. Ngene N J ______________________ ____________________

Supervisor Signature Date

Mr Ngene N J ______________________ ____________________

HOD Signature Date

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 DEDICATION

I dedicate this project to God Almighty, his guidance, strength, protection and good health has
never been on merit but his infinite grace and also, I wholeheartedly dedicate the project to my
beloved parents, for being the source of my inspiration and encouragement and for their
continual moral, spiritual, emotional and financial support.

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.

Table of Contents

Title page i

Certification ii

Approval page iii

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Dedication iv

Acknowledgement v

Table of content vi

List of Figures ix

Abstract x

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem 2

1.3 Aim and objectives 2

1.4 Justification of the study 3

1.5 Research Methodology 3

1.6 Scope of the study 3

1.7 Limitation of the study 3

1.8 Project report organization 4

1.9 Glossary of terms 4

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEWS

2.1 Overview of Verification System 6

2.1.1 Manual verification process 7

2.1.2 Electronic Verification 7

2.2 Integrity and legitimacy of Academic papers 8

2.3 Attempted Verification Methods 9

2.4 The Illusion 10

2.4.1 Web Services 10

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2.5 Related Works 11

2.6 Student Admission 14

2.6.1 Universities and College Admission Service (UCAS) 14

2.6.2 How University Student Fake their Graduation 14

2.6.3 IT Security in Higher Education 16

CHAPTER THREE: SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

3.1 Methodology for the development of the System 18

3.1.1 Why we chose the object-oriented analysis and design 18

3.2 Analysis of the Existing System 18

3.3 Analysis of the New System 20

3.4 Proposed System Model 23

3.5 Role of Each Component 24

CHAPTER FOUR: SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION AND DOCUMENTATION

4.1 Introduction 26

4.2 Control Center Interface 26

4.2.1 Certificate Verification Process 27

4.2.2 The Dashboard 28

4.2.3 Payment Interface 30

4.3 Programming Tools Details 31

4.4 Database 31

4.4.1 Web Application 31

4.5 Testing and Validation 31

4.5.1 Unit Testing 32

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 4.5.2 Integration Testing 32

4.5.3 System Testing 32

4.5.4 Data Synchronization 32

4.6 Class Diagram of the New System 33

4.6.1 User Management 33

4.7 Software Requirements 33

4.8 Hardware Requirements 33

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Summary ` 34

5.1 Conclusion 34

5.3 Recommendation 35

REFERENCES 36
APPENDIX 38

List of Figures

Figure 3.1: Manual diagram showing the analysis of the existing system 19

Figure 3.2: Use case diagram of the new system 20

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Figure 3.3: Sequence diagram of the new certificate verification system process 21

Figure 3.4: Sequence diagram of the institution user 21

Figure 3.5: Class diagram of the new system 22

Figure 3.6: Enhanced web-based certificate verification model 23

Figure 4.1: Control center interface 26

Figure 4.2: Certificate payment verification interface 27

Figure 4.3: Certificate verification interface 28

Figure 4.4: Institution dashboard interface 28

Figure 4.5: Institutional user certificate upload interface 29

Figure 4.6: Administrator dashboard interface 29

Figure 4.7: Admin profile creation interface 30

Figure 4.8: Certificate payment Interface 30

ABSTRACT

Forgery has long crept into our educational system, counterfeit and forged admission status and
document have upper hand in various certificate and degrees awarding institution. Invalid
studentship has become greater than valid studentship. The need for student admission and

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document verification system has become necessary to check mate and expunge invalid
studentship, invalid document and invalid certificate yielding to authenticity of certificate and
documents. This project work “Designed and Implementation of Student Admission and
Document Verification System” proposed model is concerned with monitoring the studentship of
students, keeping students basic academic record, tracking students if there is malpractice of any
kind and verifying every certificate of University of Enugu State University of Science and
Technology in the future and making sure fake admission is reduced drastically. The system is
design and implemented with PHP, MYSQL, HTML, AJAX, and JAVASCRIPT Technologies.

Chapter one

Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

Universities and Institutions in Nigeria issue certificates as proof to those who have
satisfactorily and successfully completed a particular course or program. The global demand for
higher education currently exceeds the world’s existing university capacity. This shortfall is
likely to persist for the foreseeable future, raising concerns that frustrated students might choose
to purchase fraudulent credentials from counterfeiters or diploma mills. International efforts to
encourage the development of reliable, authoritative lists of recognized universities are currently
underway (Gollin, 2014).

Information security incidents in the case of a university can be in the form of information theft,
data tampering, viruses, worms and data loss (Burd, 2011). The source of security incidents can
be external, such as hackers, or internal, originating from both staff and students (Gaoglu, 2009)

According to the National Student Clearing House (2016), when verification becomes
increasingly popular among institutions and employers, people will most probably cease from
falsifying credentials. Certificate verification policies and processes are changing to combat the
menace. The electronic verification of certificates is gradually gaining popularity and deployed
in some institutions. The automated system facilitates a seamless and instant verification of

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certificates by simply querying an institution’s database. An employer may not need to contact
an institution directly to verify a certificate (Blousson, 2015).

Student verification system is used to know whether or not a student is or was a legal and
rightly registered student. In this context, it is used to verify that a student belongs/belonged to
an institution and to confirm that he/she is properly registered in a particular department running
any of the institutions programme. This student verification system is an internet-based system.
It is an electronic and computerized means of verifying someone’s claim of studentship to an
institution by means of their matriculation number being input, hence using an output clearly
showing the truth or false of his/her claim. In this current age, computers have verified the cause
of their existence. The advent of computers in our society caused a lot of criticism on the danger
it poses on the society. Critics of computer and new techniques express their fear on how
computers will replace all human skills thereby resulting to mass unemployment. The presence
of computer on virtually every field of today’s life has proved the critic wrong, as the invention
of computers and new technologies continues to create additional jobs for those who identify
themselves with computers and new technologies (Uzoka, 2008).

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The epidemic of fake admission is ravaging the Nigerian tertiary institution as victims to such
fraud are often left frustrated. Students are sometimes offered fake admission with fake
documentations from fraudulent persons posing as University Officials. The practice forgery of
documents is also a growing problem and demands the utmost attention. The fraudulent
reproduction of certificates has increased significantly in recent years, becoming a menace for
stakeholders in the education policy. It is not only employers or universities who are duped by
fake certificates but also students who are cheated by them.
While at the nation level, it raises serious concern for national security, all other stakeholders
also face the impact at various levels.
1. Fake certificates/documents can be used to assist in illegal entry into the country.
2. Individuals who employ fraudulent academic credentials dilute the perceived quality of
an institution.

1.3 Aim and objectives

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 The aim of design and implementation of admission and document verification system will
achieve the following objectives.
a. To design a system that can help to minimize the high rate of manipulation and
falsification of certificates in higher institutions.
b. To design and implement a student verification system for Enugu State University of
science and technology that will accomplish the following:
c. To demonstrate the importance of verifying and authenticating students for future
purpose.
d. To build a system that enables fast verification process.
e. To eliminate the error involved with the manual method of document verification.

1.4 Justification of the study

There has been a great need for easy and fastened means to verify results/certificates to reduce
the level of certificate forgery and to ease the stress and save the time of manual certificate
verification. The manual process requires an employer or anybody concern to come or send
delegate to the school to verify a particular certificate. This research is therefore motivated by
this loop holes in various institutions and to develop a system that will help solve this problem.
Its benefits include:

a) Improving student’s admission authenticity.

b) Reduced risk of student identification forgery.

1.5 Research Methodology

The methodology adopted in this work is object-oriented analysis and design methodology
(OOADM). Object Oriented Analysis and Design Methodology (OOADM) is a popular technical
approach for analyzing and designing an application, system by applying object-oriented
programming as well as using visual modeling throughout the development life cycle to foster
better stakeholder communication and product quality. OOADM is software approaches that
model and design a system. It is also applied in the phases of software development life cycle
(analysis, design and implementation).

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1.6 Scope of The Study
The scope of this study is basically on student’s admission verification system, to help
validate student’s admission status and to keep their basic academic information and bio
data updated. The proposed system will be able to achieve the following:
i. Effectively and efficiently verify student’s admission.
ii. Produce accurate data as expected.
iii. Easy to implement and utilized.
iv. Produce easy retrieval of student’s data.
v. Allow admission decision to be made faster and more efficiently.

1.7 Limitations of the study

Owing to the scope of this project work as stated above, this project work is limited to admission
and document verification with the following constraints.
i. The main challenge was the unwillingness of the administrative staffs to provide
reliable verification details. It was considered very sensitive and confidential
information to the university. After talking at length with the users, some agreed
and others refused completely.
ii. Time was a major constraint in the course of fact finding.
iii. Difficulty in obtaining real data samples.

1.8 Project report organization

The project is divided into five (5) chapters. Chapter One is an introductory chapter that includes
the motivation, scope, research methodology, aim and objectives of the work, Chapter Two is the
literature review, Chapter Three talks about the system analysis and design of the work, Chapter
Four is the system development, implementation and testing and finally, Chapter Five entails the
recommendation and conclusion.
1.9 Glossary of Terms
University: a high-level educational institution in which student’s study for degrees and
academic research is done.

Verification: the process of establishing the truth, accuracy, or validity of something.

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Identification: the action or process of identifying someone or something or the fact of being
identified.

Manual: relating to or done with the hands.

Window-based: Hardware and software that runs a version of Microsoft Windows.

Invention: something, typically a process of development that has been invented.

Validation: The process of determining the degree to which a model is an accurate representation
of the real world from the perspective of the intended uses of the model.

Credibility: An improvement of credibility is considered to be the same as confidence building or

providing quality to the customer.

Availability: The ability of a product to be in a state to perform its designated function under
stated conditions at a given time.

Brainstorming: A technique teams use to generate ideas on a particular subject.

Control chart: A time sequenced chart with upper and lower control limits on which values of
some statistical measure for a series of samples

Cycle: A sequence of operations repeated regularly.

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 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Document Verification System

The document verification System checks if entity the biographic information on your document
matches the original record.

Verification is to ascertain the truth or correctness of an object, as by examination,

research, or comparison. It further gives reference to “prove the truth of, as by evidence or
testimony” (Sikiru, 2009). In a recruitment process, hiring is based on the information presented
while presentation skills and other factors only play a minor role. It is therefore paramount for an
organization to ascertain the truthfulness of the information presented in the recruitment process.
Every certificate should be treated with the worth as presented but its contents must be verified
to be true and valid (Ronald, 2011).

Graduate programs require applicants to submit a variety of information to provide

insight into their academic preparedness for graduate study, interest in the program to which they

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are applying, social and emotional skills (e.g., grit, perseverance, ability to overcome challenges,
motivation), and depending upon the program, research experience or potential to conduct
research and potential for success in the program and eventual contribution to the field. The most
commonly requested materials include transcripts (including undergraduate grade point average
[GPA]), letters of recommendation, personal statement(s), and standardized test scores. Other
materials may include a CV or resume, writing samples, interviews (usually for a select group of
applicants who are of particular interest to the program), and/or a diversity essay (i.e., an essay
about the applicant’s background and identity within a category such as ethnicity or race, gender
or sex, socioeconomic status, disability, sexual orientation; the essay is generally optional). The
weight that programs place on the various components can vary from program to program and
often is not made explicit even to the admissions committee members who are making the
admissions decisions (Orfield, 2014; Posselt, 2016).

2.1.1 Overview of verification process

Most organization recruiting personnel trust the certificates as they are presented. They normally
look at the holograms and the clarity of the other images or writings on the certificate and either
qualify or disqualify a certificate. Trust levels are further gained when a candidate presents a
certificate that is well known. The printed certificates could have all the required watermarks and
other security features such as holograms or school seals but the candidate acquired them
illegally either from the school or from other sources. A conducted meta-analysis of the
predictive validity of letters of recommendation found modest correlations between letters of
recommendation and outcomes such as GPA in graduate school, faculty performance ratings, and
PhD attainment. The authors identified issues that may lower the predictive validity of letters of
recommendations, such as the difficulty admissions committee members face in evaluating
letters are almost always all positive, due to recommendation writers having been strategically
chosen by the applicants (Kuncel et al,2014)

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A number of employers imposes employees to supply a piece of background information that
includes contacting the referees provided in a resume as a check to authenticate the worthiness of
the information provided. (Mukami, 2014).

When we talk about a verification system, we refer to a set of actions used in checking the
correctness and trueness of any component or element, such as a system element, a process, a
document, a file, a service, a task, a requirement, etc. (SEBOK., 2017). These types of actions
are usually well coordinated and planned and executed throughout the life cycle of the system.
Verification is a generic term that needs to be initiated within the context it occurs. Verification
is a process that spans every stage of the system's life cycle. The verification process, which
applies to every activity and every product produced by an activity, is specifically carried out
concurrently with the system definition and system realization processes during the system's
development cycle. Therefore, the process of establishing that a certificate provided by a
prospective employee to a prospective employer or employment agent is legitimate and that the
holder is the legal owner of the presented certificate is known as certificate and document
verification (Obilikwu et al., 2019). The process of confirming or validating that a certificate is
authentic and not faked is known as certificate verification (Osman, 2019).

Moreover, a graduation certificate has to be verified to ensure that its content is true and also to
ensure that the issued certificate comes from the authentic source, usually the degree awarding
institution (Rafi et al., 2020). This confirmation is often, but not always, provided by some form
of external review, education, assessment, or verification agency. In today’s global labour
market, certificates are used to assess the candidates' knowledge and skills (Huynh et al., 2021).
A number of researchers have used cloud computing for verification. According to A.C & H.R
(A.C & H.R, 2016) they developed a model for authorization of certificates in Government
sectors using cloud computing Environment. The system was designed and developed using a
model where a user can request, and the system administrator can authorize certificates online in
different government sectors. They used fifth generation cloud computing environments to
maintain data.

The application allows users to query a request to get certificates on its online platform by filling
user application form and attaching appropriate proofs like voter id, Driving License, etc. They
authorize the certificates using digital signatures. They ensure data integrity and security using

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certain algorithms. Several methods have been used to verify certificates and clear the issue of
certificate forgery; however, certificate verification method still prevalent today is a manual
process, whereby, whoever wants to verify a certificate takes a trip to the institution or send a
written request or email to the awarding institution. For instance, Srushti et al (Srushti et al.,
2014) presented a certificate generation system to ensure an efficient certificate management
process using Big Data and to provide mark sheets for creditbased grading system (CBGS) in a
very user-friendly manner.

The administrator enters each student's grades into the system. After then, the data is kept in an
internal database for collection information, and the percentage and grade are manually
determined. The technology used an encrypted QR code to embed the digital form in the mark
sheet, preventing any unauthorized users from accessing any data. But because the system is
somewhat automated, scaling it up is inefficient.

2.1.2 Electronic Verification

Electronic verification refers to the use of a computer or computer-related methods to verify the
authenticity of any provided document. This generally relates to a system and method for
indicating authenticity in connection with computer operations. it relates to a system and method
for verifying and indicating the integrity, source, or approval status of an electronic document,
more particularly to a method and apparatus for embedding a security object including security
information into an electronic document and for using the embedded security object to invoke
verification processing of the security information and the electronic document. Examples of
electronic verification systems includes.

a. E-Verify

United States E-verify program is an internet-based program widely used by over 500,000 users
and verifies the employment eligibility based on the statutory form I-9. The E-Verify is the only
free, fast, online service of its kind that verifies employee’s data against millions of United states
government records and provides results within as little as three to five seconds, according to the
official website of the United States department of homeland security. An employer fills in a
form I-9 and submits it – the system checks the eligibility criteria of the candidate and replies
with the eligibility status (US Department of Homeland Security, 2012).

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 b. Credit Reference Bureau (A case of Nigeria)

Credit reference bureaus complement the central bank of Nigeria’s roles played by banks and
other financial institutions in extending financial services within Nigeria’s economy. The lending
institutions in Nigeria shares credit worthiness of a prospective loan applicant which allows
banks to make decisions on loans issuance at a fast pace.

Banks work independently but share the payment history from which a credit worthiness record
is computed. In a similar way schools and colleges (plus other certificate issuance bodies) hold
vital education data of all students who have passed in their institutions. Sharing this information
with employers then can be the only way to which fake certificates or credentials can be
eliminated.

2.2 Integrity and Legitimacy of Academic papers

The global demand for higher education currently exceeds the worlds existing university
capacity. Consequently, a shortfall has been created, raising concerns on the frustrated number of
students who choose to purchase fraudulent credentials from counterfeits or degree mills (Gollin,
2009).

As per the crime report counterfeits are on the increase despite the heightened control measures
to curb them. Though the report is inclusive of all kinds of fake goods, counterfeits on academic
papers are further aggravated by the ever-growing technology space. The latest version of
CorelDraw and Adobe Creative1 Suite includes tools to trace a scanned document and reproduce
it with other details. The process is normally a success as most of the certificates have no formal
verification parameters (Havocscope, 2014).

Corel Draw and Adobe Creative Suite are desktop publishing tools and pre-printing that allow
unlimited edits to graphics and include trace capability tools to trace even the color and minor
details of a document.

2.3 Attempted Verification Methods

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a) Verified University Lists

These are lists that include all recognized institutions of higher learning or recognized by the
respective ministries or governing bodies. An example list is published by UNESCO website.
This method only verifies that the university or college one attended is verified or approved but
fails to connect the authenticity of the purported owner of the document with the institution.

b) Verification Forms / Letters or Confidential Letters.

These methods attempt to get verification manually from the host institutions in regards to
information sought in any application. An application for scholarship mostly uses this method.
An application form normally has a section that is supposed to be filled from the school an
applicant attended.

Another form of this method is when an applicant is supposed to disclose the referees or an
institution where a confidential letter is sought. This is a manual method and involves time and
money.

c) Certified true Copies (CTC’s)

This method is commonly used where duplicate copies are required. An applicant duplicates his
document normally via a photocopier and takes them to a certification authority that may include
the document issuer or a commissioner of Oaths or a magistrate.

This method is still not the best as the law bindings only confirm - the copy is a copy of the
original. If the original that was brought was not authentic the CTC will still hold. This then
becomes a method with no 100% accuracy.

d) Security Holograms and Institution Seals

This is the most common method used in paper documents. A hologram represents a security
kind of seal in the certificate body. Every university has its own seal mostly held under a key and
lock. Its imprints are embodied in the certificate as a trust that the document is authentic.

Despite its widespread use, it has a disadvantage in that the seals can be remade in the black
market and its effective use is based on prior knowledge on what the imprint looks like.

2.4 The Illusion

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Technology is poised to be a solution of a number of social or business problems, but can it be
useful in document verification? Over the list discussed above, an additional approach to
academic verification is possible in which the verification of the qualification will be verified
automatically via the same information security tools that are used in financial transactions and
that permit a sharing logic over the internet.

The presence of a self and or automated verification process will wipe all academic qualification
counterfeits. A lesson can be learnt from the money printing process though the problem is more
than in the money industry. Money is normally printed by a single institution and every country
has its own standards. The issue with academic papers is that they are printed by different
schools with new ones coming up every day to join a field with no certificate’s standards.

Technology avails the public key infrastructure and digital signatures as a preliminary solution to
the certificate issue. This will however not work well as these will apply only to e-documents
used, something not common with our institutions of higher learning. Our institutions provide
hard copies of academic qualifications rendering technology impotent in the digital signatures
sector, despite its widespread use in the e-commerce sector.

2.4.1 Web Services

Web service is a software system identified by a URI, whose public interfaces and bindings are
defined and described using XML. Its definition can be discovered by other software systems.
These systems interact in a manner described by their definition, (Zimmermann, Tomlinson,
2003).

Web services provide an integration aspect between two or more systems allowing them to share
data despite their different structural composition. Unlike digital signatures that rely on
electronic documents, the e-recruitment system has components that require data entry or capture
from certificates submitted. This information can then be used to verify the authenticity of the
documents provided the host institutions share the data and all work in a tiered architecture.

2.4.2 Process of Document Verification

One of the most important documents granted by universities and other educational institutions is
the graduation certificate. It serves as evidence of a graduate's competence. However, because of

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improvements in printing and photocopying technology, it is now simple to produce phony and
falsified certificates, and the quality of such forged certificates can now be on par with the
authentic ones. The certificates of many prominent universities have been forged and these
forgeries are very difficult to identify. In addition, many reasons have led to reduced operational
efficiency in student services at universities. One of the most significant factors that have had a
detrimental effect on the quality of university services is the verification process for educational
certificates and related documents Certificate verification is essential in order to ensure that the
holder of the certificate is genuine and that the certificate itself comes from a real source. Manual
verification, however, is a time-consuming operation for any firm, and it's one of the main
reasons why document forgeries continue to happen and go undiscovered in many corporate
settings. The manual verification method can be time- and money consuming for both the issuer
and the verifier, and it places additional demands on the university, preventing them from
concentrating on their primary function of educating the public.

2.4.3 Web-based certificate verification

To meet the increasing demands by the huge growth in educational content, resources and
student numbers, a suitable platform needs to be setup to accommodate such advancements in
the educational sector. The introduction of a web-based certificate verification process would be
an essential contribution to developing proper educational platform. Web-based Certificate
verification has many benefits which can be summarized as follows:

i. Realtime access to verification of certificates by the verifier. The user can access and
verify the certificate through a browser anytime, anywhere.
ii. Web-based Certificate verification system gives room for efficient utilization of
resources.
iii. iii. Scalability and affordability are key metrics. Online Certificate verification is
scalable and affordable
iv. iPerformance monitoring metrics can be easily integrated to evaluate the performance
of the system. v. Requires little or no IT skills in order to verify a certificate online.
v. Improved security model of the online certificate verification system which makes it
better than the porous security of traditional systems.

2.5 Related Works

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Several approaches have been made to verify student’s documents and certificates and clear the
issue of certificate forgery, however, certificate verification method still prevalent today is a
manual process, whereby, whoever wants to verify a certificate trip to the institution or send a
written request.

In light of the above, Srushti et al. (2014) presented a certificate generation system to ensure an
efficient certificate management using huge data and to provide mark sheets for credit-based
grading system (CBGS) in a very user-friendly manner. In this system, the admin enters the
marks of each student. That information will be stored in internal collection information
database, percentage and grade is calculated manually. The system embedded the digital form in
mark sheet using encrypted QR code, so that any unauthorized user cannot retrieve any
information. However, the system is partly automated made it inefficient.

Hampo (2011), in his work adopted the Structured System Analysis and Design Methodology
(SSADM) which emphasizes on completing a phase of the software development before
proceeding to the next phase and also being able to go back to the other phases in a purely
sequential manner. The model used for this project is the Rapid Application Development (RAD)
model proposed by International Business Machine (IBM) in 1980 and introduced to software
community by James Martins through his book Rapid Application Development. Unfortunately,
it was not a web-based application but a desktop application software which made the system
less valuable as compared to web applications.

Omar et al (2016), Incorporated cryptography approach and cloud-based model to enhance the
verification mechanism and thereby reduce the incidence of certificate forgeries and ensure that
the security, validity and confidentiality of graduation certificates would be improved. By using
the Cloud-based model, some of the factors that result in reduced operational efficiency in
student services at universities can be addressed and this should have a positive impact on the
quality of services provided by universities. However, since cloud infrastructures are owned and
managed by service providers, the cost of implementation is also high. Thus, most institutions
could not afford its implementation.

Boukar and Shamiluulu (2018), research work enabled an end-user to define certificate template
and template format without the requisite of XML knowledge by clicking few buttons and typing
from the system GUI, verifying the certificate and generating one or more certificate(s)

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simultaneously. In the system, students' details are imported into the system using an excel file,
thus, making the system partly automated and inefficient.

Singhal and Pavithr (2015), proposed a system to prevent the circulation of fake degree
certificates by adopting the use of the QR Code and Smart Phone Application. A QR Code
contains a digital signature over the data such as degree holder's name, enrollment number, roll
number, total marks obtained etc. which will be signed by university authorities. To verify the
digital signature a person needs to use a specific smartphone application which will scan the QR
Code and authenticate the certificate. The system was able to combat certificate fraud by
embedding the QR Code on the degree certificate and by introducing the smartphone application
which will read the digital data from the QR Code. It enables the verification of the certificate
without depending on the certificate issuing institution. This did not only improve the
authenticity mechanism of a certificate at a much faster rate than manual verification but also
prevents the creation of fake certificates through cost-effective.

Musee et al (2015), in his study, employed Agile Methodology approach and Unified Process
modelling to develop a cloud-based prototype which is used as SaaS to provide certificate
verification. The prototype allowed users to request to get the academic certificates verified by
filling the name of institution, course name, year of graduation and the verification code. All
these processes were carried out in private cloud and accessible online. The main disadvantage
of the system is the use of Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) which does not
support horizontal scaling that is partitioning.

Yusuf and Muslu (2017), adopted the use of Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) and MySQL
connector jar file. Hence, designed a web-based approach proposed to replace the traditional
(manual) verification process by retrieving certificate data from institutions in JSON format and
archiving them in a database from which verification can be made eliminating security threats
and human error. An SQL query was executed to retrieve relevant information from the database.
Results are parsed and presented in a JSON format using the GSON jar file and JSON library
functions. However, the use of NoSQL features in MySQL became the major deficiency of their
system as it slows down the system operation.

Tint and Win (2014), to control fake certificates, considered the combination of Elliptic Curve
Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) and Secure Hash Algorithm-1 (SHA-1) algorithm which

24
provides strong cryptographic strength and optimizes the computational speed as well as space.
In this process, the input message from the user is hashed into a message digest. This digest code
is encrypted into signature value using the ECDSA algorithm. The signature value is converted
into barcode. The user input message and barcode are combined into electronic certificate. If a
user is a new user, he/she must register first. This user needs to input his/her information and
generate public/private key pair. This user information and private key will be used to create an
electronic certificate. The system, however, lacked the certification authority (CA) between user
and server for a trusted third-party system and to get a more secure client-server authentication
system.

Warasart and Kuacharoen (2012), in their paper, implemented a paper-based document

authentication in which a document can be verified with the use of a digital signature and QR
code. This enables the verification of the documents without depending on any special institute
such as the forensic science centre or accessing the database. The verification process can be
done automatically if the Optical character recognition or optical character reader (OCR) is
accurate. Otherwise, human inspection is required. The inspector can see the differences between
the printed message and the message in the QR code. This semi-automated process is the major
drawback of their system.

Nwachukwu and Igbajar (2015), considered the adoption of Top-Down structure (a modular
approach) with Iterative model and designed an online certificate verification system that can be
implemented as a standalone application or embedded in a school official website depending on
how the institution decides to use it. The system was based on an RDBMS for certificate storage
though can automate the process of certificate creation and management but lacked partition
tolerance i.e., horizontal scalability, Flexibility and above all Efficiency when data became very
large.

In his research, Hampo (Hampo, 2011) used the Structured System Analysis and Design
Methodology (SSADM), which emphasizes finishing one stage of software development before
moving on to the next and having the flexibility to return to earlier stages in a strictly sequential
fashion. The model used for this project is the Rapid Application Development (RAD) model
proposed by International Business Machine (IBM) in 1980 and introduced to software
community by James Martins through his book Rapid Application Development. Unfortunately,

25
it was not a web-based application but a desktop application software which made the system
less valuable as compared to web applications. The system is no longer relevant in today’s world
of Web 2.0 and 3.0 technology.

Osman (Osman, 2016) used cryptographic method and cloud-based model to improve the
verification mechanism, thereby reducing the incidence of certificate forgeries and ensured that
the security, validity and confidentiality of graduation certificates would be improved. It uses the
Cloud-based model, some of the factors that result in reduced operational efficiency in student
services at universities are addressed and this should have a positive impact on the quality of
services provided by universities. However, since cloud infrastructures are owned and managed
by service providers, like AzureMicrosoft, Amazon Web Services – Amazon, Google Cloud
Platform- Google, the cost of implementation is also high. As a result, few institutions could
afford to apply it.

Using a QR Code and smart phone application, Singhal and Pavithr (Singhal, 2015) developed a
technique to stop the distribution of bogus degree certificates. The data, which includes the name
of the degree holder, enrollment number, matriculation number, total marks or grade earned, etc.,
is digitally signed by university officials and is contained in a QR Code. A particular smartphone
application that scans the Code and authenticates the certificate must be used to verify the digital
signature. By including a QR Code on the degree certificate and introducing a smartphone
application that can read the digital data from the QR Code, the system was able to combat
credential fraud. It makes it possible to verify certificates without relying on the organization that
issued them.

This not only enhanced a certificate's authenticity mechanism at a rate several times faster than
human verification, but it also stopped fake certificates from being made. Musee (Musee, 2015)
developed a cloud-based prototype that is used as Software as a Service (SaaS) to enable
certificate verification in his study. He employed Agile Methodology and Unified Process
modeling, by entering the name of the university, the year of graduation, the name of the course,
and the verification number, users of the prototype may request and obtain academic diplomas'
verification. These procedures were all completed in a private cloud accessible online. The main
disadvantage of the system is the use of Relational Database Management System (RDBMS)
which does not support horizontal scaling that is partitioning

26
Boukar, Yusuf and Muslu (Yusuf, 2018) on the other hand adopted the use of Java DataBase
Connectivity (JDBC) and MySQL connector jar file hence designed a web-based approach
proposed to replace the traditional (manual) verification process by retrieving certificate data
from institutions in JSON format and archiving them in a database from which verification can
be made, thereby eliminating security threats and human error. An SQL query was executed to
retrieve relevant information from the database. The GSON jar file and JSON library functions
are used to parse the results and show them in a JSON format.

However, because using NoSQL capabilities in MySQL slows down system operation, it has
become the system's main shortcoming. The Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm
(ECDSA) and Secure Hash Algorithm-1 (SHA-1) algorithms, which provide strong
cryptographic strength and optimize the computational performance as well as space, were
combined in Tint and Win (Tint, 2014) to regulate fraudulent certificates.

2.6 Student Admission

Student admissions are a vital part of any university’s running because students keep the
university alive. The student admission is one of the most important activities within a university
as one cannot survive without students. A poor admissions system can mean fewer students
being admitted into a university because of mistakes or an overly slow response time. Apart from
it being very vital to the university, it is also vital to the applicants.

University admission environment has changed significantly during the past 20 years. Amid this
new landscape, there is growing concern that individual institutional actions, activities of
parents, schools, students and other actors in what we refer to as the admission process, may not
be serving the values and purposes traditionally associated with higher education. The university
admission process has been studied extensively from marketing perspective. How student choose
the universities to which they apply and eventually enroll. Some attention has been given to the
psychological aspects of the process, especially the accompanying stress and confusion
experienced during the decision-making process (Berkman, 2015).

2.6.1 Universities and College Admissions Service (UCAS)

UCAS is a UK-based organization whose main role is to operate the application process for the
British universities (Wikipedia, 2017).

27
It is argued that many students apply to the universities before they have had time to research
what and where they want to study. This is a problem because the admission portal is always
open or it is left accessible for students at times when the admission window is closed. In relation
to the Nigeria universities, admission window is opened during the summer (August). The said
system will allow students to verify admission during these periods.

In order to give the prospective applicant, the chance to familiarize themselves with the system, a
demo period will be allowed.

2.6.2 How University students fake their graduation

According to (Wandera, 2015), hundreds of students fail to graduate annually, although this is a
reality many parents never realize since the culprits skillfully hide this. The idea of going to
university and walking away with a degree three or four years later is fast turning into a myth for
a number of students. The colourful aura of relieved and hopeful students marching in files to the
cheer of proud guardians on graduation day may just be overrated. Unknown to some of the
parents, what they usually see is not a degree coming into the family but rather the illusion of it.
This is because much as some students actually show up, they are not really graduating but
putting up a show to hide the bitter truth as they come well aware that the university, for several
reasons, does not have them on the list of graduands. The dirty tricks:

University students have for long unleashed a bag of tricks with the commonest, and perhaps the
most widely employed being forging documents. Parents turn up to hear the student’s name
being read, however, when that does not happen, the parent is made to believe the name was
mistakenly skipped. Such students are usually quick to present their parents with university
transcripts, showing the perfect score. Emmanuel Omuna, 24, and a graphics designer on Nasser
Road-Kampala, confirms that the need to forge university transcripts is something many students
have approached him with. “Usually, when the graduation date is closing in, students are always
here looking for a transcript. And it is possible to design one that nobody will second guess,
unless of course you work in the university’s registrar’s office,” Omuna shares.

True to his word, when presented with a fraudulent transcript, many parents never sense anything
awry about the document as many do not even know how the original transcript should look like.

28
However, Lawrence Obbo, a Kyambogo University Social Science graduate, says sometimes the
students do not need to travel far to get a transcript because university personnel responsible for
issuing transcripts have been bribed by students who have the financial muscle to offer them
transcripts. However, such transcripts never make it into the university records. “I have
witnessed such cases. And from what I know students are getting these documents from the
people in the system. It is sad. Female students offered sex in exchange for the document,” Obbo
intimates. Other students who believe their parents will be inquisitive enough to find out about
their dirty tricks in case their name does not feature on the graduation list, have feigned illness on
graduation day and stayed home. Some choose to disappear from home altogether. However,
disturbing reports have continued to trickle in of students hacking into the university system to
feed in marks, often walking away with “authentic” transcripts. As for how possible it is to hack
into the system, that remains a question yet to be addressed. Interestingly, Nicholas Lumu, a
Makerere University law student believes it is possible. He says, “We have IT students so
sophisticated. The question is not whether they are able to hack into the system; it is how often
they are doing it.” Lumu remarks

2.6.3 IT Security in Higher Education

According to Analysts, the Higher Education sector is the most breached of any industry. IT
security is a hot topic these days, especially at colleges and universities. An April 2008
Symantec Global Internet report noted that the education sector experienced more IT security
breaches than any other industry. What’s more, the number of higher education breaches and
institutions affected continues to rise, as schools are under greater pressure to collect more and
more student data. Between 2006 and 2008, the number of incidents reported by schools grew by
101 percent, and during that same period, the number of institutions affected rose by 173 percent.
As recently as February 2009, the University of Florida reported an exposure of 97,200 student
records, all of which contained names and Social Security Numbers.

Statistics like these in the education sector – as well as the increasing number of breaches in
other industries – have garnered a great deal of publicity and have generated cause for alarm.
There has been tremendous growth in the field of IT security training, as organizations of all
sizes struggle to find professionals to help them address the challenge. There are myriad books

29
on IT security on the market, and the list grows monthly; and many colleges, universities, and
technical schools now offer a degree or certification in IT security.

In December 2008 Gartner Group Survey found that “the role of the chief information security
officer (CISO) is no longer rare, but many institutions have yet to formalize the role and the title.
Policies and support for educating the community are also still evolving. Work still needs to be
done, if security is to be viewed not as an IT problem, but as an institutional problem that needs
addressing.”

The Gartner survey’s key findings include the following:

 The need for a security officer is now recognized and supported by more than 60 percent
of institutions.
 The risk of losing important data is still a more important business driver for security
compared to financial risks.

Calculating the cost of security breaches and attacks is rare. More than 75 percent of institutions
have not even calculated the cost of mobile PC thefts, which should be less difficult to calculate”
(higher-education-whitepaper: www.information.Rapid7.com, 2015).

30
 CHAPTER THREE
SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

3.1 Methodology for the Development of the System

31
 In this chapter, the analysis of the proposed system and its design is discussed more. Its
features and how the system interacts with its users. The methodology adopted in this work is
object-oriented analysis and design methodology (OOADM). Object Oriented Analysis and
Design Methodology (OOADM) is a popular technical approach for analyzing and designing an
application, system by applying object-oriented programming as well as using visual modeling
throughout the development life cycle to foster better stakeholder communication and product
quality. It is also applied in the phases of software development life cycle (analysis, design and
implementation). The tools and technology used in development of the system are not left out.

3.1.1 Why we chose the Object-oriented analysis and design methodology

The object-oriented analysis and design methodology is a technical approach for analyzing and
designing an application system by applying object-oriented programming, as well as using
visual modeling throughout the software development process to guide stakeholder
communication and product quality. During each phase of the lifecycle, a set of well-defined
activities are carried out for instance at the Analysis stage (structured analysis of requirement)
was specifically carried out in focus of the functionality of dataflow. The system and structured
analysis were then transformed into software design (software architecture to decompose the
system into modules and representation of relationships among the modules, data structures and
algorithms for the modules to be designed).

3.2 Analysis of the Existing System

The existing system of certificate verification is done differently by various organizations; some
are done manually while some are done via the organization portal. But either online or manual
certificate verification process, the problem remains availability and accessibility, not every
institution has a certificate verification portal n either do all private or public organization. So,
the existing system lacks collective integration and hence this makes it difficult to provide
firsthand information on candidate’s academic qualification.

The existing process of certificate verification adopted by most institutions or organization is

manual shown in Figure 3.1, where candidate are asked to send in their original Certificate, after
receiving from Candidate, the organization will Ask the University of the candidate to forward a
confirmation letter indicating if the candidate was actually a graduate of the institution. This

32
confirmation letter will contain the candidate names, matriculation number, faculty, department,
and year of entry, year of graduation, certificate number and class of degree among others.
Sometimes, the organization could send their staff to visit the school of the candidate for an
enquiry or send in third party investigation (Agency) for information.

Figure 3.1 Manual diagram showing the analysis of the existing system

Certificate verification through Organization website, this process is limited because is not all
academic institutions are connected to their services, therefore their certificate verification
process will only provide certificate details but cannot shown the certificate image format, so
hence the certificate information provided by such organizations are not 100% authentic because
manipulation and falsification can still be identified.

3.3 Analysis of the New System

The operation of the new web-based certificate verification system works in a way that protects
unauthorized persons both from the organization and the various institutions that partner with
them. It has different modules with both the institution login and organization login as the main
33
module and method of access. As shown in Figure 3.2 the various user case of all the users of the
new system is fully illustrated while Figure 3.3 and Figure 3.4 shows the various sequence
diagram of the entire system. The new system uses the class diagram as shown in Figure 3.5 to
further provide a clear understanding of the operations of the new system, modules and sub-
modules relationships.

Figure 3.2 Use case diagram of the new system

34
Figure 3.3 Sequence diagram of the new certificate verification system process.

Figure 3.4 Sequence diagram of the institution user.

35
Figure 3.5 Class diagram of the new system

36
3.4 Proposed System Model
This project proposes a model shown in Figure 3.6 for academic certification verification
based on web environment. Here the application is placed or installed and hosted in the internet
as an independent system not incorporated into any school portal, personal or organizational
website rather as a website to verify and guarantee authenticity of certificates at various level.
The system displays certificate details and format with user’s image after verification processes
are concluded. The web is chosen because it provides and delivers application via internet which
is accessed from web browsers by using devices such as laptop, mobile, desktop, etc. User can
access it by using website tools or web browser. The database is hosted in the internet in which
verifications of academic certificates can be instantly verified. It ensures that the data integrity
and security is enhanced by adding an additional security technique both from client end and to
administrative end.

Figure 3.6 Enhanced web-based certificate verification model

37
 The proposed system model has the users, activities and privileges shown in Figure 3.6,
as illustrated in Figure 3.6, every access to the new system must undergo authentication process
before accessing the dashboard. The model contained block of activities each user would
perform, interfaces for authentication, certificate verification, payment and upload. As stated at
the introduction of this paper, this work is structured and planned to enable remote integration of
numerous institutions and organizations to achieve one goal, which is to fight against fake
certificate hence to restore sanity in service delivery. Figure 3.6 presents a clear picture of such
system, where both public and private organizations can confine in getting secured information
on their employee’s academic qualifications.

3.5 Role of Each Component

The following explains the role and interactions of each component as shown in the conceptual
High-Level Model in figure 3.6

a. Academic Document Verification System

The Academic Document Verification system is an application for academic

document/certificate verification. It is hosted on the server for public access. The service is
available for:

 Employers
 Parents / Guardians
 Consultancies
 Recruiting agencies

b. Potential Employers / Recruiter

These are people or recruiting agencies that wish to employ the graduates’ (certificate owner).
Their interaction with the system involves the following.

 They must get serial / index-number from the certificate

 Verify the academic document in question by entering the serial number in the search box
on the system.

38
 c. Graduate (Certificate Owner)

These are the owners of certificates who wish to have them verified for an opportunity before
them. The owner of certificate must provide the interested party with either the serial number or
a copy of the academic document.

39
 CHAPTER FOUR
SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION AND DOCUMENTATION
4.1 Introduction
Implementation involves execution, or practice of a plan, a method, or the design, idea, model,
specification, standard, or policy of the project (Arnold, 2007).

This chapter describes the different phases of the admission and verification system with regards
to how the system is developed, screen shot, implemented and tested using the suitable tools,
programming language and technology. At the previous chapter, the project began with the
description of requirements analysis and design of the proposed system in details, and in this
chapter the project shall explore the several aspects of the joined system. The systems developed
targets to enable admission and document verification. The task of code testing is to test program
classes, functions, modules as separate code units and check their interactions. As a rule, it is
accompanied by the development of special test classes, start functions, test data sets, design and
execution of appropriate test cases. As such, the implementation follows the preliminary thinking
in order for the project to be successfully executed.

4.2 Control Center Interface

40
 Figure 4.1 Control center interface

Access to the main backend is controlled by challenging the user for a username and password
by displaying a login page. The login screen is presented to the user upon loading the main page.
If the user supplies the wrong username and password, they are informed of the authentication
failure. The new system has a control center shown in Figure 4.1 where access to other modules
in the new system could be accessed once a user clicks on the “verify your certificate button”.

4.2.1 Certificate Verification Process

Figure 4.2 Certificate payment verification interface.

Once user clicks on the verify certificate button, a window pops up shown in Figure 4.2. This
window will ask user verify certificate payment by entering payment name and ATM card PIN,
then by clicking on the button “PROCEED TO CERTIFICATE VERIFICATION” the interface
for candidate certificate verification will be displayed.

41
 Figure 4.3 Certificate verification interface.

The certificate verification module shown in Figure 4.3 require user to provide the name of
institution on the certificate and the certificate number before verification. The sequence diagram
shown in Figure 3.4 explains in details the activities of the certificate verification interface and
the User of the system while Figure 3.5 represents the sequence diagram of the institution user
on the new system.

4.2.2 The Dashboard

Figure 4.4 Institution dashboard interface

This interface where the user can perform operation like uploading of certificate and navigating
through the institution and contact interface.

42
 Figure 4.5 Institutional user certificate upload interface

Here the user fills in the required data needed and uploads the scan copy of certificate to
be verified.

Figure 4.6 Administrator dashboard interface

Only admin have access to this module where he/her can manage the entire operation of
both the incoming user and existing user. The admin has a special password and user name, after
successful login the following interface will appear

43
 Figure 4.7 Admin profile creation interface.

Here the admin needs to fill the required data to create an account. Once the account has
successfully created, the admin can login in performs any operation.

4.2.3 Payment Interface

Figure 4.8 Certificate payment Interface

44
This is the interface where payment for the verification of certificate is made. It is payment
authorization is secured by Interswitch.
4.3 Programming Tools Details
This section outlines the tools that were used in the development phase of the system. It provides
an overview of the software development practices that were followed. The section also provides
a description of the technologies that helped in the development of the system.

4.4. Database
The web-based database was implemented using the PostgreSQL database application server.
This is mainly because it provides better query processing performance as compared to other
open-source alternatives such as MySQL. Primary keys were uniquely identified and generated
using autoincrement sequences natively supported by PostgreSQL. All linked tables were also
constrained using foreign key indexes. To enhance data integrity, fields such as token numbers
that need to be unique also have database constraints to ensure uniqueness.

4.4.1 Web Application

The web application is implemented using Java. It follows object-oriented design patterns to
structure the low-level functions. The application is designed to be accessed on any web browser.
The web application runs on a tomcat server. The application design also follows the MVC
pattern to enable better code reuse.

4.5 Testing and Validation

Testing is the major quality-control measure used during software development. Its basic
function is to detect errors in the software. Thus, the goal of testing is to uncover requirement,
design, and coding errors in the program. Forms of testing;

 Unit Testing
 Integration Testing
 System Testing

45
4.5.1 Unit Testing

Unit testing involves testing every unit or subsystem independently. The overall system includes
several subsystems or components working together to meet the goal or requirements of the
system. The units or components were tested to ensure they are working fine and efficiently.
Errors and bugs found were fixed and corrected immediately. This gives an avenue to the second
phase or stage of testing which is the integration test.

4.5.2 Integration Testing

Integration testing involves the test of how the components or units will integrate and work
together. The subsystems after being developed will have to be combined together for a larger
system or subsystem. Since these components were developed separately when they are being
integrated together, they may not work properly as expected, that is why they have to be tested
together to ensure that they are working. After testing and confirming that they are working fine
then other components can be integrated into the previous integration and they are tested again,
as one integration.

4.5.3 System Testing

The last testing phase is the systems testing after all the subsystems have been integrated and
form one or the system has to be tested finally as one. The whole subsystem integration is tested
as one whole component. This system test produced some system errors which were tackled. The
output of the system test is the final working product. The system users and operators were also
involved in this level of testing.

4.5.4 Data Synchronization

Data synchronization in the system is achieved by maintaining two databases. A central database
on a server that is responsible for holding all charge configurations and client databases that hold
temporary payment data and certificate database. Once a user logs into the application, a
background service sends an HTTP data check request with the current timestamp as a request
parameter. If there is a need for synchronization the web service will return a JSON array
containing data dictionaries that will then be parsed by the application to generate database
insertion queries to save the newly downloaded data dictionaries.

46
4.6 Class Diagram of the New System
The class diagram of the new system shown in Figure 3.6 contained the static view of the entire
system. It is a collection of all the interfaces, classes, methods (Subroutine), associations and
collaborations of various object member of the system. The class diagram makes it easier for a
clear understanding of the operations of the new system, modules and sub-modules relationships.
It is used because of the adopted methodology, the methodology (OOADM) sees each entity in
the system as an object, and hence ensures that each object behavior is contained in the program
coding.

4.6.1 User Management

The user management panel provides all user-related functions. The process involves an
administrator supplying identification details. It also serves as a data grid for displaying all user
data as well provides searching capabilities that make it users to find users. Once a user is
identified and selected all their corresponding details are displayed on the details panel.

4.7 Software Requirements

The software requirements for this project are;

 Windows XP, Vista, and above. It would also support all 32-bit windows operating
systems.
 Database Management System (DBMS)
4.8 Hardware Requirements

The hardware requirements include;

Minimum computer hardware requirement:
 1.6 GHz CPU
 512 MB RAM
 1024 x 768 of Display
Recommended computer hardware requirement:
 2.2 GHz or higher CPU
 1 GB or more RAM
 1280 x 1024 of Display

47
 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Summary

Student admission and document verification is a major and important activity to any
institution. The system that has been in existence is the manual system which has many defects.
The most important goal of the systematic review was to reveal the added value of the field
explored. From the above findings, it follows the analysis of factors that influence academic
decisions, student academic profile, and preferences in order to “recommend” the appropriate
learning resources that have always been a request. In many cases, a typical software solution to
an Academic advising system includes a rule-based expert system. However, the dynamic nature
of program requirements might turn maintenance of the system into a crippling task.
Implementing a user-based collaborative Academic Advising system is an appropriate choice,
although a major problem limiting the usefulness of such a system that should be addressed is the
sparsity problem, which refers to a situation in which data are insufficient to identify similarities
in students’ interests.

5.2 Conclusion

Enhance web-based document verification system will be a useful research tool that will
not only open up new techniques for verifying and confirming certificates before accepting it but
rather encourage originality and confidence to organizations. With the full implementation of
this new system, corporate organizations, individuals, academic institutions and the government
can now verify any certificate issued to persons without prior consultation of the institution that
issued it. Once the institution is registered with the organization that owns this software it can be
easily verified. For instance, schools registered with JAMB have access to some activities on the
JAMB portal. Therefore web-based document verification system is designed to be an integrator
between Candidates, institutions, and employers. The new system will save time and reduces
errors to its minimum level as compared with the manual approach. In order to utilize
information, it must be accessible. Accessibility includes both documentation of available data
and tools for accessing the data. Web-based document verification system provides a tool that
can assist with the documentation of online database connectivity and with the retrieval of the

48
information. It offers convenience to the users and considerable ease to employers as they can
authenticate certificates from school easily and more quickly than conventional methods of
manual verification.

5.3 Recommendations

Research done in regard to this project, coupled with the fact that we now live in a world where
everything is now becoming digitalized, the following recommendations were derived:

 The development of the web-based admission and documentation system shouldn’t stop
here, constant improvement and research need to be conducted to make sure it is in line
with best technology practices.
 The development of local admission and document verification system should be
encouraged as this would help reduce the fraudulence in academic credentials.
 Every class of the societal stratification should be encouraged to use this verification
system as it improves our educational standards.

49
 REFERENCES

Gollin, G. (2009). Verification of the Integrity and Legitimacy of Academic Credential

Documents in an International Setting. Colleges and University, 84(4), 75-81.

Havocscope. (2014). Global Black Market Information. Retrieved July 17, 2014.

Otieno, D. (2013, September 2013). Kenya, land of fake goods, fake leaders, fake smiles.
Retrieved June 26, 2014

Chunguli, E. O. (2003). A survey of e-recruitment practices among commercial banks in Kenya.

University of Nairobi.

Lang, S., Laumer, S., Maier, C., & Eckhardt, A. (2011). Drivers, challenges and consequences of
E-recruiting. 11 Proceedings of the 49th SIGMIS annual conference on Computer personnel
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Mukami, T. (2014, January 11). Got FAKE Documents? How HR Managers Will Get You.
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Carol, T., Pollard, R. and Wang, P.L. (2003) Increasing Effective Student Use of the Scientific
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Rouse, M. (2006) Definition of Certification.

ISO/IEC/IEEE (2010) ISO/IEC/IEEE International Standard—Systems and Software

Engineering—Vocabulary 24765(E). Verification 5: Product, Service, or System Complies with
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Warasart, M., and Kuacharoen, P. (2012). Paper-based Document Authentication using Digital
Signature and QR Code. International Conference on Computer Engineering and Technology,
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Osman, G., and Omar, S.S. (2016). Cloud-Based Graduation Certificate Verification Model.
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Musee, M.N. (2015). An academic certification verification system based on cloud computing
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Nwachukwu, K.C., & Igbajar, A. (2015). Designing an Automatic Web-Based Certificate

Verification System for Institutions. Journal of Multidisciplinary Engineering Science and
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Yusuf, D.A., Boukar, M.M., and Shamiluulu., S. (2018). Automated Batch Certificate
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51
 Appendix

Php.login

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use App\Models\User;

use App\Models\LectCourse;

use App\Models\Instructor;

use App\Services\TokenService;

use App\Services\UserService;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class UserRegistrationController extends Controller

private $userService;

public function __construct(UserService $userService)

$this->userService = $userService;

52
 public function Courses()

$user_info = LectCourse::select(

"course",

"course_level",

"id"

->get();

return response(['data' => $user_info], 200);

public function randonDigit($digits)

$temp = "";

for ($i = 0; $i < $digits; $i++) {

$temp .= rand(0, 9);

53
 return (int)$temp;

public function jamereg($length)

$string = "";

$chars = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789";

$size = strlen($chars);

for ($i = 0; $i < $length; $i++) {

$string .= $chars[rand(0, $size - 1)];

return $string;

public function addInstructor(Request $request){

$regNo = "2017030182".$this->randonDigit(3);

$no = substr($regNo, -1);

54
 print_r( $no .' = '. $regNo);

if($request->hasFile('img')) {

$img_ext = $request->file('img')->getClientOriginalExtension();

$filename = 'tim_xxxwxx' . time() . '.' . $img_ext;

$path = $request->file('img')->move('studentpix', $filename, 'public');//image save public

folder

$data = [

'name' => $request->name,

'email' => $request->email,

'jambReg' => $this->jamereg(10),

'reg' => $regNo,

'course' => $request->course,

'phone' => $request->phone,

'dob' => $request->dob,

'num' => $no,

'nationality' => $request->nationality,

55
 'homeTown' => $request->hometown,

'state' => $request->state,

'address' => $request->address,

'bustop' => $request->bustop,

'guidance' => $request->guidance,

'guidancephone' => $request->guidancephone,

'entrymode' => $request->entrymode,

'img' => $filename,

'payT' => $request->entrymode,

'status' => $request ->status,

'schoolname' => $request->schoolname,

'olevel' => $request->olevel,

'password' => $request->password,

];

$instructor = User::create($data);

return response(['data' => $instructor], 201);

56
public function expert(Request $request)

$user = User::where('num', $request->radioval)

->get();

if(count($user) == 0 ){

$response = [

'error' => true,

];

return response(['data' => $response], 201);;

}else{

return response(['data' => $user], 201);

57
public function __invoke(Request $request)

$postData = $this->validate($request, [

'email' => ['required', 'unique:users,email', 'email'],

'password' => ['required', 'min:3'],

// 'password_confirmed' => ['required', 'same:password'],

'username' => [''],

'career' => [''],

'frm '=> [''],

'genre' => [''],

'country' => ['required'],

'name' => ['required'],

]);

if($request->frm) {

$postData['frm'] = $request->frm;

$user = $this->userService->createUser($postData);

$token = $user->createToken('web_app')->plainTextToken;

58
 return response([

'token' => $token,

], 200);

// return response(['user' => $user], 201);

59
60