From the coming academic year onwards, students will be allowed to pursue two degrees at the same time. This will not only be applicable to the freshers joining in the first year but also to those who have already been enrolled in a degree. In what the University Grants Commission (UGC) calls a ‘two-degree programme’, students will not only have a chance to mix two streams or two courses but can also opt to study at two different colleges at the same time.
Students who are in the third or second year of a degree can also enrol in the first year of another course as well. The enrolment will be regardless of stream, college, or year the student is currently in, according to UGC. Addressing media, the UGC chairperson M Jagdeesh Kumar said, “hope that with NEP, more and more universities open up and allow students flexibility”.
Read | UGC’s 2 Degree Programme Could Make Getting Seat in Top Colleges Tougher, Dilute Quality, Fear Experts
Students will have the choice to add another degree, diploma or certificate programme to their existing degree, however, they have to be eligible for admission policies of each of the universities and courses. For instance, if admissions to one course is offered based on JEE score and another on basis of CUET, then students will have to clear both entrance exams. Universities will have the choice to select the admission process. UGC will release detailed guidelines on this very soon.
“As announced in the new National Education Policy (NEP) and in order to allow students to acquire multiple skills, UGC is coming up with new guidelines to allow a candidate to pursue two-degree programmes in physical mode simultaneously. The degrees can either be pursued from the same or different universities,” UGC chairperson M Jagdeesh Kumar said while addressing the media.
Students can take up courses from the college or university which they are enrolled or in any other university across the country. Students can also take up one course in online mode and the other in offline, or any other combination of their choice, as per the new programme.
Students can only pursue courses of the same academic level under this programme. This means one can take two courses offered after class 12 say BCom and BSc or BTech and diploma at the same time, however, a UG and a PG course can not opt at the same time.
The idea is to allow more students access to top colleges. “Typically 3-4% of students who apply at a college are admitted to it. We want to empower some of the best universities in the country to start online courses as well. Online courses ensure an unlimited number of seats. We are also planning to set up a national digital university which will also be declared as an Institute of national importance and offer online programmes,” said Kumar.
The flexibility is available for only lecture-based courses offered at UG, PG, ad diploma courses are allowed to be clubbed under this programme. Students cannot take two PhD at the same time.
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