Project – Design and implementation of online student identity card system

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    BACKGROUND

The word ID is an abbreviation for identity. Identity (personal), meaning what is particular about a person or a thing. It includes those qualities that distinguish one person or thing from another and consciousness of one’s own being or identity. The word card was gotten from a Greek word ”papyrus leaf” meaning a piece of card for writing or on which information is printed, Together ID card is a piece of card that contains information of person that distinguishes him/her from one another in a particular organization.

In Kano State Polytechnic, for students to collect their ID cards they have to follow the queue process up to several hours from one unit to another with the manual process involved in handling the students ID card process. Most of them waste the whole day, while some it takes them few days to process for their ID cards, so students do waste a lot of time in taking information.

The purpose of these study is to replace the manual way for processing of students ID cards and assist the staffs to increase on the processing work. This will go further completely to remove any invalid ID card processing. Consequently this will help the staffs to overcome stress and constancy of being overworked. This study is also aimed to educate the staffs and the students in Kano State Polytechnic, other tertiary institutions and even private owned institution on how best a computerized ID card processing system would help for optimum services in the public.

Mostly ID cards are processed and developed manually but recently, developing online ID card generating system brings in a new dimension. The motivation of this project is based on the fact that most current and reliable information are derived through the computer system that is through the internet system, as such there is the urgent need to develop all academic facilities of the institutions with a computer base system in order to meet their current challenges faced by its users.

In an online system, data can be saved, retrieved, edited, updated and deleted on the internet at anytime anywhere. A data is a collection of information organized as to make it easy to view it, search it, retrieve the right detail and collects the necessary fact in an easier, timely and effortless manner as possible. Some of these software are Microsoft SQL server, Microsoft Access, My SQL and oracle.

Presently, the world has developed sophisticated information technologies, to the extent that virtually no aspect of life can do without a computer system. The future of institutions depends on their capabilities to adapt a new information society and meet the need of an ever more demanding professional market. A computer, whether digital or analogue is a device for solving problems automatically.

1.2    STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The problems with the existing system in particular can be identified as follows:

1. Difficulty in retrieval: locating a particular student record is always a very difficult task, it has to be through file after file in trying to locate a particular file.
2. Time consuming: a lot of time is wasted during the manual operation of data. A task can take a whole day before been processed due to the existing manual system.

• Sorting: to sort according to names or registration number makes the work very difficult. Student data easily get mixed up for instance, two students with similar names but different registration number.

1. Cost of material: lot of paper are used, too many staff are involved in carrying the task.
2. Loss of data: since student information required with photograph, it can easily be misplaced due to improper attachment of the photograph.

All these are problems generated with the existing system of operation on student’s record, and as such for university to develop a fast and more advance, reliable way of keeping data must be considered. In term of storing, processing and accessing/retrieving of data, the operation is slow. The issue could be too bulky, searches for record and reservation are laborious and frustrating and for error rate in filling system is higher than when compare with the computerized.

1.3    AIM AND OBJECTIVES

1.3.1 Aim

The aim of this project research work are to develop an online system which will handle a computerized version of generating students ID card system.

• Objectives

1. Reduce time taken in the processing of student ID card and enable timely report generation.
2. Ensure adequate security of data.

iii. Ensure information correctness, consistency and reliability.

1.4    SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This project will help the students to apply for ID cards online and also print the ID card if all necessary validation has took place.

1.5    SCOPE OF THE STUDY

As a result of the difficulties of development of an ID-card processing system for ID badge system, smart print, start, smarter system etc. this research has been limited to student’s ID-card processing.

• The processing covers all the departments in Kano State Polytechnic.
• The study also involves method of inputting data, outputting student’s information on the ID-card processing system.

1.6    LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The study is limited to only generating student ID cards; it assumed that students are cleared and legible to apply for ID card. This system is not responsible for student’s clearance and course registration.

 

Project – Design and implementation of online student identity card system