UGC may allow PG students topick courses from other streams

New Delhi The University Grants Commission (UGC) may soon provide postgraduate students greater flexibility in choosing subjects irrespective of what their education stream or discipline was at the undergraduate level, according to a draft document prepared by the commission.

The body is also proposing to allow more online programmes, give students the facility to pursue two postgraduate courses simultaneously, and for work experience to be equated with academic credits.

These changes are listed in a draft document, “Curriculum and Credit Framework for Postgraduate Programmes”, which has been prepared in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which emphasises on multidisciplinary education with entry and exit options at both undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) levels. UGC has already released the framework for four-year UG programmes that has been adopted by over 100 universities across the country this year.

According to the draft document, a copy of which was seen by HT, three kinds of postgraduate programmes will be offered – a two-year programme with the second year devoted entirely to research for those who have completed the three-year UG programme, a one-year programme for those who have completed a four-year UG course, and an integrated five-year Bachelor’s/Master’s programme.

Highlighting the features of the new framework, the document said that it will provide “flexibility to move from one discipline of study to another”.

“Let us say a student is majoring in physics and minoring in economics in a four-year UG programme.Under the new norms, this student will be eligible for admission to a PG programme in physics or economics. In fact, the student will be eligible for admission in courses which are not related to the major and minor disciplines they had during their graduation. They will have to qualify entrance tests such as CUET-PG,” UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar told HT, explaining one of the key proposals in the draft.

“This is the flexibility we want to provide the students to move from one field in UG to a completely different area in PG. This multidisciplinary education fosters a well-rounded understanding of the world and encourages critical thinking and problem-solving skills,” he said, adding that the draft will be released in public domain for stakeholders feedback in the next few days.

According to the new draft norms, students will be given the option to exit after one year. “For the PG programme, there shall only be one exit point for those who join a two year PG programme. Students who exit at the end of 1st year shall be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma,” the document stated.

It also provides a provision for an entirely online programme. “It will allow students to participate in the programme along with their current responsibilities. This makes earning a postgraduate degree while continuing to work easier and more accessible to individuals,” the document added.

The draft further said that “creditisation of relevant work experience is another initiative to make education more holistic”. This is in line with a National Credit Framework (NCrf) released by UGC in April that enables the assignment of credits for the experience attained by a person after undergoing a particular educational programme.

Under the new framework, students will also have the flexibility to pursue two academic programmes simultaneously, something that was announced by UGC last year.

Needs quotes from experts and educationists -- one positive and one contrary view.