By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Tuesday announced that students will now be able to simultaneously pursue two-full time academic programmes, which will help expand their knowledge and skill-set.
This provides flexibility to a student to pursue any combination of a diploma programme and an undergraduate (UG) degree, two master’s programmes or even two bachelor’s programmes, not only in physical or online mode but in combination mode too. They can do it at the same university or from different universities.
The guidelines in this regard will be uploaded on the UGC website on Wednesday.
This is the first time such a programme has been envisaged. Earlier, the UGC regulations did not allow students to pursue two full-time programmes.
The guidelines will apply to all the programmes available across the country and universities can implement it only after the approval of the universities’ statutory bodies. However, it will not be mandatory for them.
In a virtual meeting, UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar said under the National Education Policy (NEP), the latest move aims to offer flexibility and personalisation of higher education and even allow multidisciplinary education across various domains for students.
He added that if a student is eligible to pursue a postgraduate (UG) degree and wants to enroll in a bachelor’s degree in a different domain, they will be able to pursue a UG and PG degree simultaneously. However, the class timing for both programmes must not clash.
This would also mean that students can now pursue two-degree programmes across sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities, and various disciplines.
He clarified that the guidelines only apply to lecture-based courses, including undergraduate, postgraduate and diploma programmes. MPhil and PhD programmes will not fall under the same scheme.
Students will also have multiple entry and exit options introduced by the NEP.
The university will decide on attendance to a programme, he added.
