In an attempt to enhance career prospects and provide more flexibility, University Grant Commission (UGC) has now approved a proposal that allows students to pursue two full-time degree programmes simultaneously. It can be at the graduate or undergraduate level, physical or online mode or a combination of both. Students in India can now opt for dual degree programmes at the same time either from the same university or different institutions. The condition is that one of the two-degree programmes has to be through regular mode while the other can be a distance, online, or open learning course.
Under this new scheme, students can choose two courses in different streams and from different universities. They also have the option to enrol in the same institution for another programme, provided the college offers multiple modes of learning.
According to UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar, detailed guidelines will be issued soon in this regard.
Under the supervision of UGC Vice-chairperson Bhushan Patwardhan, a committee worked on this proposal based on the feedback received from the public. The committee also stated that since the regular degree programme must follow minimum attendance criteria, the second course should be online or distance mode. This dual degree programme will provide more career opportunities to students.
The Central Idea
The primary objective of the new National Education Policy (NEP) is to provide students with better opportunities to acquire multiple skills. Hence, the UGC introduced new guidelines that let candidates pursue two-degree programmes simultaneously.
In regards to the same, M Jagadesh Kumar said, “The idea is to provide as much flexibility as possible to the students. These guidelines are part of the NEP and are aimed to customise and personalise education, even allowing multidisciplinary education across various domains. It is a great opportunity for students to expand their skills,”
The programme will be executed from the academic year 2022-23. Students can select two degrees or a combination of a graduate or postgraduate degree and a diploma, from either the same university or a different college.
Other Details
- Students can pursue dual degrees in physical-physical mode, physical-online mode or online-online mode.
- They can choose two full-time programmes in physical mode but class timings should not overlap. For one programme, classes can be in the morning and for the second one, in the evening.
- They can take the courses from the same or different universities.
- Students are allowed to pursue multidisciplinary programmes.
Conclusion
Further notifications will be issued soon but for now, we can say that it’s a great move for students, paving the way toward better career growth and opportunities.
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