Email roll numbers.

Byline: Amna Inayat Khan - Karachi

THE previous system of allotting a roll number to a student has changed drastically. The modern roll number is email accessible and has become a multi-function wonder that carries a student's entire data like name, birth date, batch year, date of admission, postal address, phone contact, etc.

This is the one thing that contains a student's educational identity and everything connected to it. An email-backed roll number allows the student to appear in tests, enrol in courses, submit assignments, etc. Naturally, all of these are important milestones in their academic journey.

With further advances in communications technology, a roll number serves a much wider purpose. As colleges and institutions of higher learning have grown from local to national and in some cases international level, communication has been the game-changer. Be it amongst staff, students, or between staff and students, it has become important to not just have an encrypted identification code such as a roll number, but also to use it as a mode of conveyance and access.

In the email era, the roll number...