Witnessing an increasing amount of backlog in terms of the Akademische Prüfstelle (APS) certificates, which had become a mandate in November 2022, the German mission in New Delhi has made a change in the way they provide academic assessment certificates. Till April 23, 2023, the German Embassy had been issuing the certificates in paper-printed form. However, the latest update from the Embassy has announced that students will now receive digital certificates to facilitate a quicker processing time.
Evaluating the Indian students’ academic documents at the Academic Evaluation Centre in New Delhi, the APS certificates are a pre-requisite for student visa applications. As per the report, the students will receive their documents as a pdf file on their registered email address, after completion of the process.
The report further stated that the embassy began issuing the certificates digitally on 24 April 2023. However, this excluded the candidates travelling to Germany on a partnership or exchange programme.
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The announcement also assured that the move will not impact those who have already received their paper-printed certificates as they remain valid for admission to German universities. Citing its belief in accelerating the processing times, the move had been made to help students apply to German universities more easily while reducing the backlogs they have been facing.
According to media reports, several students have raised their concerns and complaints over the delays and lack of communication from the APS office in New Delhi. The universities have also raised similar concerns, particularly, in respect to the delay in responding to emails and calls.
In response to the complaints, Kasper Meyer, the Science Counsellor at the German Embassy, through the official social media handle, acknowledged the issues and highlighted their focus on the verification of the documents. The response stated that they lack the resources to respond to requests since all resources have been transferred to verify the documents.
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The German mission in India shed light on the number of applications that remain even though 7,000 applications have been reviewed and sent over. According to the statement, the German mission is expected to verify more than 25,000 applications this year.
However, even with a growing backlog, the German mission has confirmed that they do not plan to expand their operations outside of Delhi. A spokesperson talking to the media stated that since students can send in their documents by post and now with digital certificates, the need for opening APS offices in other cities is not required.
Additionally, to facilitate a quicker processing time, state-recognised universities in Germany have been working with APS. They are subsequently allowing students to reach the universities in a timely manner.
Source: TheFreePressJournal
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