Students will now be able to pursue two full-time academic programmes at the same time, 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 tomorrow, 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. The rules will apply to all of the programmes offered around the country. Students can enrol 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 enrol 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 timings must not collide.
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.
NEP Vision
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 proposal is embraced by academia and students.
Students will be able to pursue two UG or PG degrees/diplomas in the physical+physical, physical+online, or online+online modes as a result of this decision. UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar unveiled UGC’s latest plan to allow students to pursue two academic programmes at the same time, including full-time degree degrees, in a virtual meeting with the media.
“There have been many innovations in the domains of open and distance learning, as well as online education, as a result of the rapid increase in demand for high-quality higher education and the limitation of only enrolling roughly 3% of students on physical campuses. Many institutions now provide both offline and online programmes,” Kumar said, adding that the UGC will release revised regulations for online education in a few weeks, following which many top-tier Indian colleges will begin giving online degrees.
The official list of UGC guidelines for pursuing two simultaneous degrees or academic programmes is expected to be uploaded on the UGC website tomorrow. The new move will be applicable from the academic year 2022-23 onwards.
UGC GUIDELINES- PURSUING TWO DEGREES TOGETHER
- In the physical mode, students can enrol in two full-time academic programmes as long as the class schedules do not overlap. For example, a student could study BA in the morning and BCom in the evening.
- In the physical+physical mode, physical+online mode, or online+online mode, students will be able to pursue two UG or PG degrees/diplomas at the same time.
- The two programmes can be undertaken at the same institution or at different institutions.
- Students will have the option of enrolling in multidisciplinary programmes. For example, BA History with BSc Mathematics, BCom Honours with a Data Science certificate, and so on.
- The UGC and statutory authorities will regulate the degrees and diplomas that students will achieve through higher education in the two-degree format.
Other Important Details:
- If a student is enrolled in two physical mode programmes, the universities will determine the needed attendance for each.
- Students must adhere to the admission requirements for each degree programme individually as if they were pursuing them separately.
- According to the revised online programme standards, any student who has completed Class 12 can enrol in online academic programmes.
- Students can begin their studies in either of the two programmes in separate years. For example, while a second-year History student, a student could begin a BA History degree in 2022 and a Data Science diploma in 2023.
- The NEP’s multiple entries and exit options will be applicable to all degrees, whether single or double, online or off.
- It is not a requirement that all universities enable students to pursue two degrees or programmes at the same time. They have the option of implementing or not implementing the most recent UGC ruling.
- Students should be aware that if they are pursuing two programmes, one of which is in physical mode, it may be a problem because attending two sets of classes may be physically demanding. Furthermore, two elite colleges may not always be close enough for students to seamlessly transfer from one set of classes to the next. According to the UGC chairman, a physical+online mix may be the best option for students.