HIGHLIGHTS:
• Students will now be able to study two full-time academic programmes
• The guidelines will apply to all the programmes available across the country
• It was made to help them learn a variety of abilities
Students will now be able to study two full-time academic programmes in physical mode, according to the University Grants Commission (UGC). The commission has drafted a set of recommendations in this regard, which will be posted on the UGC’s official website on April 13. Previously, UGC laws prohibited students from pursuing two full-time programmes at the same time, limiting them to one full-time degree plus online/short-term/diploma courses.
Pursuing both UG & PG degree
The rules will apply to all of the programmes offered around the country. Students can enroll in a diploma programme followed by an undergraduate (UG) degree, two master’s programmes, or two bachelor’s programmes. If a student is eligible for a postgraduate (PG) degree and also wishes to enroll in a bachelor’s degree in a different field, he or she will be permitted to pursue both a UG and PG degree at the same time. Both programmes’ class schedules must be consistent.
Explaining the vision of the NEP
According to the UGC, the decision to allow students to pursue two academic degrees at the same time was made to help them learn a variety of abilities. It also aims to put the NEP’s objective of bridging disciplinary divides into action. It will be interesting to watch how the suggestion is greeted by academia and students.
Universities will have to develop attendance criteria for these courses because all academic programmes have minimum attendance requirements for students to be eligible to take exams.
Students will be able to pursue two degree programmes spanning domains such as sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities, and a wide variety of fields under the new guidelines. Universities have the option of adopting these principles, which can only be implemented with the permission of the universities’ statutory bodies. The eligibility criteria for each programme will stay the same, and admissions will be based on current UGC and university standards.
