Obtaining after overcoming a sea of hurdles, many people discover that their birth certificates are riddled with errors, rendering them useless for accessing essential services.

Almost half of the certificates issued by the local government authorities contain clerical mistakes ranging from the misspelling of the names of applicants or their parents to incorrect dates of birth.

According to the Office of the Registrar General, Birth and Death Registration, Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) corrected more certificates than it issued from January to September this year while Comilla City Corporation (CoCC) and Khulna City Corporation (KCC) corrected 79% and 74% of total certificates they issued during the period.

Due to the errors in certificates, one has to contact the offices concerned again and go through a complex and time-consuming process to get those corrected.

However, the authorities concerned said both the service seekers and offices concerned have to be cautious about the mistakes that appear on applications.

According to the Office of the Registrar General, a total of 5,844,680 birth certificates were issued from January to September this year. During the period, 2,666,788 birth certificates were corrected, which is 46% of the certificates issue during the period.

According to the office, the RCC issued 7,478 birth certificates and corrected 8,982, KCC issued 14,285 and corrected 10,537 with a 74% correction rate and CoCC issued 9,356 birth certificates and corrected 7,393 certificates with a correction rate of 79%.

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) issued 898 birth certificates and corrected 1,063 in August. In September, it issued 5,903 certificates and corrected 3,392 certificates, data from the office said.

Suraiya Begum, a college student in Dhaka's Vatara area, said her name was misspelt in her birth certificate though she duly provided all necessary documents to the Union Parishad office back at her village home.

"My father has no technological literacy. He went to the UP office in Galachipa upazila of Patuakhali. I provided all my documents to the UP staff but I found mistakes in the birth certificate once I received it. I needed the certificate for my admission but it was not accepted there," she said.

Suraiya also said when she went to the UP office with a correction application to get the mistake amended, the office staff told her that she needed to submit the birth certificates of her parents which she does not have. "Besides, I need to change the mobile number which was used during my birth registration as it is not mine."

Reaz Ahmed, a resident of the Satarkul area under Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), said, "The correction process is very complex if it is related to the date of birth. You have to submit an affidavit to prove your age."

"What's the task of birth registrar officers if the applications contain so many errors? Just to accept and forward those are their job? Service seekers attach all the documents but they never cross-check those."

Wishing anonymity, an assistant birth registrar of DNCC under Karwan Bazar zone said, "We're also getting huge mistakes in certificates. It’s due to the fault of the applicants. The assistant registrar can't change a word in the online application process."

He also said, "Many times, the application is done from service-providing shops and they usually make mistakes. In many offices, government employees themselves also give services going beyond the service rules. They also make mistakes. People should not rely on the service providers and instead they should cross-check the spelling of the names and the date of birth."

 Talking to the Daily Sun, RCC Chief Executive Officer ABM Sharif Uddin said he will investigate why the city corporation topped the list in making mistakes in birth certificates.

"Earlier, the certificates were issued from our councillor offices and the data entry operators mainly perform both the application and approval works. Maybe for this reason the rate of mistakes is higher than expected. We'll work so that the information in the application form is thoroughly scrutinised by our officials."

Registrar General of Birth and Death Registration Md Zahid Hossain said they have noticed the trend of mistakes. "We have nothing to do with it. Service seekers and offices concerned need to be cautious to avoid the mistakes."