Caribbean Examination Council to issue certificates using Blockchain

• Toshendra Kumar Sharma
• November 26, 2018

The Blockchain is the hottest selling cake around the world, and every nation wants to have a slice of it. When it comes to some of the most transformational changes across the world in technology, then Blockchain ranks the highest. Owning to its multitude of benefits and features it has become one of the most talked about topic and has garnered the attention of many. We have already seen big names like Microsoft, IBM, Infosys, Wallmart, Amazon, etc. stepping into the pool of Blockchain and trying to adopt this technology to develop a more efficient and transparent system. The latest addition to the list of Blockchain is Caribbean Examination Council or CXC.  The Caribbean Examination Council has come up with a provision wherein they will be issuing the certificates to 24,000 students using Blockchain. The news seems interesting and also showcases new use case of the DLT technology. Let us understand why Blockchain?

Why there is so much hype about Blockchain?

Since Blockchain was the underlying technology of cryptocurrency, it also got popularized. However, its earlier application was only restricted to financial transactions. It was only in the last few years that Blockchain came out at a separate entity and posed as a base for many other functions.

The reason for this is attributed to myriads of features that Blockchain has to offer. If I could sum it all in few words, then Blockchain culminates or bridges the gaps that are in the conventional technologies.

A quick view of the features or benefits of Blockchain Technology:

1. Peer-to-peer interaction–

   The best part about Blockchain technology is that it offers peer-to-peer communication or in simple words, it allows the removal of the third party. Because of this, the entire system becomes transparent and time-saving.

2. Transparency-

   The next benefit or feature of Blockchain technology is that it helps in creating a transparent system. It means that anyone in the network can view the data fed in the system. But that doesn’t mean that it is easy to hack which brings me to its next feature immutability.

3. Immutability – Another feature of Blockchain is that once the data enters the ledger, it is impossible to delete it or alter it, thus making the entire ledger immutable and free from hacking.
4. Decentralization-

   This is one of the most important benefits of Blockchain. It offers decentralization that is all the information is not present at a central location. You can access it from anywhere.

Why is Caribbean Examination Council issuing certificates using Blockchain?

Well looking at the series of benefits that Blockchain has to offer, it has a use case on the academic front as well. Till now most of us have our academic credentials in the paper format and all the data at school, college or university are stored in files. Although many universities have now digitized and have an electronic system for the same still it is not secure. In order to combat all these challenges, Blockchain has emerged as an option to provide a platform where all the education credentials of the students can be stored.

The Caribbean Examination Council is also trying to explore this avenue and has thus come up with the thought of issuing certificates to 24,000 students using Blockchain Technology. Though the certificates will be handed over to the students, it will also be present in the ledger which the student or the university can access at any time.

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has started issuing the certificates using Blockchain from 31st October 2018. The certificates will be issued to only 24,000 students who appeared in the exams held in May and June.

These e-certificates will be received via Blockcerts Wallet. This wallet will not only be used for storing the data but also for verification or the performance of the students.

Benefits:

• • One of the prime benefits of creating such a system is that it will keep the certificates safe.

  • Secondly, this will create a transparent system and the data which is present in the ledger cannot be changed.

  • Another reason for making a shift to Blockchain Technology is that issuing certificates as Blockcerts will safeguard the details and credentials against natural disaster.

  • This system will be faster and more convenient.

  • The other universities, institutes or companies can easily verify the candidate’s data.

Caribbean Examination Council will issue the Blockcerts using the federated issuing system of the Learning Machine.

The CXC is not the first one to adopt Blockchain technology. The Commonwealth of the Bahamas has also come up with Bahamas Blockcerts which is a nationally-accredited digital certificate. All these features and developments make it evident how popular the Blockchain technology is and how it is growing at a breakneck pace.