Certificates Module User Guide (Non-Technical)

This guide explains how office/admin staff can use the Certificates module without technical knowledge.

Who should use this

• Head teacher / principal office
• Admin office staff
• Front desk staff

What is inside this module

From the left menu, open Certificates. You will find:

• Transfer Certificates
• Character Certificates
• Student ID Cards

Status meanings (important)

Certificate statuses

• Draft: created but not final yet
• Issued: finalized certificate
• Cancelled: invalidated certificate

ID card statuses

• Active: currently valid card
• Expired: no longer valid by date/status
• Lost: card reported as lost
• Replaced: old card replaced by another card

Before you start

Check these first:

1. Student profile exists with class, section, and session.
2. Academic session, class, and section are properly configured.
3. For transfer certificate, student is marked as Left or Graduated.
4. For character certificate and ID card, student is typically Active.
5. Student photo and guardian contact are updated (especially for ID cards).

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1) Transfer Certificates

When to use

Use when a student is leaving the school and needs an official transfer document.

Create a transfer certificate

Path: Certificates -> Transfer Certificates -> Create Certificate

1. Select the student.
2. Confirm session, class, and section.
3. Enter Issue Date and Leaving Date.
4. Enter Reason for Leaving.
5. Select Conduct.
6. Optional: last exam passed, subjects studied, attendance fields, remarks.
7. Save.

Notes:

• Attendance percentage is auto-calculated when working/present days are entered.
• Certificate number is auto-generated by the system.

Review and issue

After creating, open the certificate details page.

You can:

• Preview PDF
• Download PDF
• Edit (only while Draft)
• Issue Certificate (moves Draft -> Issued)

Cancel or delete

• Cancel is used after issue (recommended with reason).
• Delete is available only while draft.

Practical rule: once a certificate is issued, do not edit/delete it; cancel if needed.

Search and filter list

Available list filters:

• Search (certificate number or student)
• Academic session
• Class
• Status

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2) Character Certificates

When to use

Use when a student needs a conduct/character document for higher study, visa, job, etc.

Create a character certificate

Path: Certificates -> Character Certificates -> Create Certificate

1. Select student.
2. Confirm session, class, section.
3. Enter Issue Date.
4. Select Conduct.
5. Enter Purpose.
6. Enter Character Assessment (main body text).
7. Optional: extracurricular activities, achievements, remarks.
8. Save.

Review and issue

From certificate details page, you can:

• Preview PDF
• Download PDF
• Edit (Draft only)
• Issue Certificate

Cancel or delete

• Cancel is used for issued certificates.
• Delete is for draft certificates.

Search and filter list

Available list filters:

• Search
• Academic session
• Class
• Status

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3) Student ID Cards

Create one ID card

Path: Certificates -> Student ID Cards -> Create ID Card

1. Select student.
2. Select session.
3. Set issue and expiry date.
4. Set blood group (optional).
5. Add emergency contact name/phone (optional but recommended).
6. Save.

System behavior:

• Card number is auto-generated.
• QR/barcode data is prepared automatically.

Bulk generate ID cards

Path: Certificates -> Student ID Cards -> Bulk Generate

1. Select session/class/section.
2. Choose whether to generate only for students without active cards.
3. Set validity dates.
4. Click Generate ID Cards.

Tip: Do bulk generation after final student promotions/section assignments are complete.

Manage an existing ID card

Open card details from list.

Available actions:

• Preview Card
• Download Card
• Edit (usually for active cards)
• Mark as Lost
• Mark as Expired
• Delete (typically for non-active cards)

Lost card handling

When marked as lost, the old card becomes invalid. A replacement card may be created automatically depending on current setup.

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4) Printing and PDF behavior

• Preview opens a browser view of PDF.
• Download saves PDF to your device.
• Print/download actions are tracked by the system (print time/user info).

For transfer/character certificate design:

• The system tries to use the active document template.
• If no custom template is set, it falls back to default layout.

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5) Recommended office workflow

Daily

1. Create new certificate requests as draft.
2. Verify student details before issuing.
3. Issue and download signed/official copies.

Weekly

1. Filter by status and review pending drafts.
2. Review cancelled records and reasons.
3. Check ID cards near expiry.

Monthly

1. Archive issued certificates (PDF copy + register).
2. Review lost/expired ID card cases and replacements.

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6) Common issues and simple fixes

Student not showing in dropdown

• Check student status:
  • Transfer Certificate: Left/Graduated expected
  • Character Certificate / ID Card: Active expected
• Confirm class, section, session are assigned.

Cannot edit or delete certificate

• Issued certificates are locked for edit/delete.
• Use cancel action if correction is needed.

Expiry date error on ID card

• Expiry date must be after issue date.

PDF layout not as expected

• Check template setup under Templates module.
• If no template is set, default layout is used.

Bulk generation does not complete

• Recheck session/class/section selection.
• Try smaller groups first.
• If validation message appears repeatedly, ask system admin to verify bulk setup.

Menu not visible

• Your account likely lacks permission.
• Ask admin to enable certificate/ID card permissions for your role.

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7) Best practices

• Always review student identity and spelling before issuing.
• Keep cancellation reasons clear and specific.
• Do not share lost/expired card printouts as valid ID.
• Keep soft and printed copies of issued certificates.
• Standardize purpose text (for example: "Higher Education", "Visa", "Employment").