The University Grants Commission (UGC) recently announced that students will now be able to pursue two full-time academic programmes in physical mode.
Bhubaneswar, April 14: The University Grants Commission (UGC) recently announced that students will now be able to pursue two full-time academic programmes in physical mode. The commission has laid down a set of guidelines regarding the same. Earlier, the students did not have the permission to pursue two full-time programmes. They could only pursue one full-time degree along with online/short-term/diploma courses.
The new guidelines will apply to all the programmes available across the country. Students can either choose a combination of a diploma programme and an undergraduate (UG) degree, two master’s programmes, or two bachelor’s programmes. If a student is eligible to pursue a postgraduate (PG) degree and also wants to enroll in a bachelor’s degree in a different domain, he/she will be able to pursue the PG and UG degree simultaneously. However, the class timing for both the programmes must not clash, said the new guidelines.
Arindam Ganguly of Orissa POST talks to a few students and experts to collect their views on the issue.
Swetalina Mohanty, a first year Zoology student of BJB College, said the UGC guidelines will open new opportunities for the students and they will be able to gain skills and knowledge of two degrees at the same time. She expressed her desire to pursue a degree in Chemistry. “Pursuing two courses simultaneously will be a tough task. But, we have studied multiple subjects for Class X and XII examinations. So, I think students can manage things,” She added.
Sweta Soundarya Das, a BTech student, said the UGC decision is good but it would be difficult for the students to pursue two degrees simultaneously. This will create confusion for the students and they cannot give proper focus on two separate courses. In this context, we have to check the infrastructure and facilities available in our educational institutions. This is a new thing and our system will take time to get familiar with it, she added.
Vivek Kumar Puspalak, a first-year Chemistry student from BJB Autonomous College here said, “The decision could be beneficial for the students. But students pursuing technical courses will find it difficult to give attention on another course simultaneously. I am however focusing on competitive exams.”
Naimisha, a sociology graduate, said the students need skills in multiple subjects to make themselves eligible for jobs in different sectors. “I am planning to do PG in Sociology and Economics simultaneously,” she added.
Soumya Rout, another first year student, said it will be challenging for students to pursue two courses simultaneously. Apart from focusing on their college education, the students need time to prepare for the competitive examinations, she added.
Educationist Naba Kishore Pujari welcomed the decision and said it would be beneficial for students. They can now pursue some professional courses in addition to their college education to enhance their employability, he said.
Alok Ranjan Behera, an Assistant Professor in the department of Economics at Utkal University, said there would be multiple challenges for pursuing two full-time programmes simultaneously. The students may find it difficult to attend the required number of classes for the two courses. “I think the examination process requires an overhaul for effective implementation of the new UGC guidelines,” he added.
Utkal University Vice Chancellor Sabita Acharya said students can’t give justice to two academic programmes simultaneously. They have to devote a lot of time to attend the classroom teachings for both courses. The UGC guidelines clearly states that the class timing for both the programmes must not clash. This would be a challenging task.