UGC Directs Colleges To Make Changes To Allow Students To Pursue Two Degrees Simultaneously
New Delhi, 1st October 2022: On Friday, the University Grants Commission (UGC) requested that all universities amend their statutes to permit students to pursue two academic degrees in physical mode at the same time.
The proposal allowing students to pursue two full-time degrees concurrently had been accepted by the UGC in April. On Friday, the rules for it were announced.
In a letter to institutions, the UGC stated, “All higher education institutions (HEIs) were asked to develop systems through their statutory authorities that would allow students to simultaneously enroll in two academic programmes. It is once more urged that, in the greater interest of the students, implementation of the abovementioned programme may kindly be ensured and hastened, if not done so far.”
As long as the class times for one programme do not conflict with the class times of the second programme, students may now pursue two full-time academic programmes in physical mode, under UGC norms. The PhD programmes are exempt from it.
The guidelines said, “The goal of allowing a student to pursue two degrees concurrently stems from recognising, identifying, and fostering the unique capabilities of each student, with no hard separations between the arts and sciences, curricular and extracurricular activities, between vocational and academic streams, etc. and enabling an individual to study one or more specialised areas of interest at a deep level, as well as develop character, ethical, and constitutional values.”
Only HEIs that are authorised by the UGC, Statutory Council, and the Government of India to conduct such programmes may pursue degree or diploma programmes in the ODL (Open and Distance Learning) and Online modes.
According to the statement, “Degree or diploma programmes under these guidelines shall be controlled by the Regulations announced by the UGC and also the corresponding statutory/professional councils, if applicable.”
