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What should I do if my graduation certificate or degree certificate is lost or damaged? The certificate issued by the school has the same validity

2024-08-17

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The express company lost the sender's university diploma during the mailing process. How should the sender protect his rights? The People's Court of Xuyi County, Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province, recently released a typical case of consumer rights protection.
On July 10, 2023, Xiao Zhang entrusted his mother to mail his university diploma to Shanghai through a courier company. The mailing fee was 12 yuan, and the mail was lost during the transfer process. Since the diploma cannot be reissued after it is lost, Xiao Zhang believes that the loss of the mail has affected his subsequent employment and promotion. He asked the courier company to compensate for the transportation, catering, accommodation and other expenses of 5,515 yuan for multiple reissues of the student status certificate, and to compensate for mental damages. Since the mail was not insured, the courier company believed that it could only compensate no more than three times the postage. The two parties negotiated to no avail, and Xiao Zhang sued the court.
The court held that the whereabouts of the mail was unknown after it was handed over to the courier company for mailing, which violated Xiao Zhang’s legal rights and interests and caused Xiao Zhang certain economic losses. Therefore, the reasonable expenses for Xiao Zhang to reissue his graduation certificate should be compensated.
Wang Qian, judge of the fast-track court of the Xuyi County People's Court in Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province:According to Article 38 of the Regulations on the Administration of Students in Regular Institutions of Higher Education, "If a diploma or degree certificate is lost or damaged, the school shall issue a corresponding certificate upon verification upon application by the individual. The certificate has the same validity as the original certificate." Although the relevant documents of the Ministry of Education have determined that a graduation certificate has the same validity as a diploma, a diploma is a specific item that records and proves the holder's learning experience. It contains specific spiritual interests for the holder and has commemorative significance. If the degree certificate or diploma is lost and the original cannot be replaced, it will inevitably cause mental damage to the person concerned.
According to the Civil Code, the parties should fully perform their obligations in accordance with the agreement. This case is a courier service contract relationship. The courier company lost the certificate during the transfer process, which is improper performance of the contract. It should compensate Xiao Zhang for his property loss and mental loss. The court ruled that the courier company should compensate Xiao Zhang for various expenses incurred in reissuing the certificate, totaling 4,000 yuan, and compensate him for mental damages of 5,000 yuan.
▌If the graduation certificate or degree certificate is lost, a certificate can be issued but it cannot be reissued
Xiao Zhang, mentioned above, graduated from Jiangsu Vocational College of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Science and Technology. After his diploma was lost in the mail, Xiao Zhang applied to the school for a replacement diploma, but the school said: diplomas and degree certificates cannot be replaced if they are lost or damaged. You can only go back to the school to apply for a student status certificate as needed, and only one can be reissued at a time.
Jiangsu Vocational College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Science and Technology Staff:Graduation certificates cannot be reissued, only a certificate can be provided.
The reporter consulted many universities and received the same response - if a university diploma or degree certificate is lost or damaged, only a certificate of equivalent validity can be issued, and it cannot be reissued.
Hotline staff of the Graduate and Supervisor Service Center of Fudan University Graduate School:Even if you graduated this year, if you lose your certificate, there is no way to get it back. It is just a certificate of loss, which will have a photo and a stamp on it.
Staff of Student Affairs Department of Suzhou University of Science and Technology:You cannot reissue a graduation certificate, you can only reissue a graduation certificate, which is a certificate proving that you have a graduation certificate.
reporter:I would like to ask, why can’t graduation certificates and degree certificates be reissued?
Staff of Student Affairs Department of Suzhou University of Science and Technology:This is issued by the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education, not our school. It is unified across the province. The certificates are all obtained from the provincial department and the numbers are also unique.
Staff of Student Affairs Department of Wuhan Institute of Bioengineering:You can only come to the school to get a certificate, which cannot be reissued. If your employer needs it, you can only take this certificate, because it cannot be reissued.
▌Education Scholar: Graduation Certificate Replacement Should Keep Pace with the Times
The reporter learned that according to the latest version of the "Regulations on the Management of Students in Ordinary Higher Education Institutions" issued by the Ministry of Education in 2017, "if the academic certificate and degree certificate are lost or damaged, the school shall issue a corresponding certificate after verification upon application by the student. The certificate has the same effect as the original certificate." In other words, the graduation certificate cannot be issued again, but the student's learning experience can be proved in the form of a certificate.
Some education scholars said that the situation of students facing loss or damage of graduation certificates is not an isolated case, and the education authorities can provide more relief measures based on actual needs and technological upgrades.
Tong Dehua, professor at the School of National Governance of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law:Any legal provision has a process of improvement, and it must also reflect the opinions of the public, especially the majority of students and teachers. It needs to be systematic, that is, from the perspective of public hearings, and some democratic opinions need to be collected to see whether it is possible to reissue it based on the safety assessment.
The reporter consulted the "Regulations on the Management of Students in Ordinary Institutions of Higher Education" issued by the Ministry of Education in 2005 and the "Regulations on the Management of Students in Ordinary Institutions of Higher Education" issued in 2017, and found that in the case of loss or damage of graduation certificates and degree certificates, both versions clearly stipulate that upon application by the individual and verification by the school, a corresponding certificate shall be issued. The certificate has the same effect as the original certificate. Some education scholars said that whether graduation certificates can be reissued should not be "tied up" by technology.
Education scholar Xiong Bingqi:In the past, due to the underdeveloped information, it was inconvenient for students or employers to check the information of degree certificates, and there might indeed be problems with some people forging degree certificates or academic certificates. However, as society develops, especially when all students' degree information and academic information can be easily checked online, it is outdated to emphasize that academic qualifications and degree certificates cannot be reissued. Therefore, the relevant departments can listen to the opinions of college students and the public on whether to apply for a reissue of degree certificates, and adjust the previous management methods of student academic certificates, because regulations also need to keep pace with the times.
Regarding the current regulations, some education scholars have also stated that employers need to have an in-depth understanding of the relevant laws and regulations in the case of lost or damaged diplomas and degree certificates, and should not create obstacles just because graduates are unable to provide original diplomas.
Chu Zhaohui, researcher at the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences:I think that at present, in various places, when colleges and universities have not yet perfected the procedures, various places should popularize a common sense, that is, the employing institutions should know the certificate of equivalent effect of the school where the student made up, which is sufficient to prove that he graduated from this school and obtained a degree from this school. There is no need to doubt it, no need to look at it differently, I think this basic common sense should also be popularized.
Source: CCTV NewsGuangzhou Daily New Flower City Editor: Su Wanqian
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