<p>Students of Delhi University are all excited at a recent recommendation made by a University Grants Commission (UGC) panel. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The panel has advised that students should be allowed to pursue two academic degrees from the same or different central universities simultaneously, one of them through distance learning mode. This means that one can do an English Honours from DU and bag a Physics Honours degree from Jamia Millia Islamia University at the same time.<br /><br />The panel also says that students should be allowed to pursue different subjects in a course from different colleges or varsities. So effectively, a BSc student can pursue Physics and Chemistry from his parent college, say DU, and do Maths from Aligarh University. This recommendation comes within a year of DU establishing a Meta University offering degrees constructed of subjects from various streams.<br /><br />Most DU students have welcomed this proposal of a US-style higher education in India. Ananya Agarwal of LSR says, “Generally, people keep interest in more than one subject. For example, I am pursuing Statistics Honours, but it involves studying Economics, Maths and Psychology as well. I have always wished if I could study these simultaneously. In fact, students move abroad for the lack of such provisions in India. I am glad they are finally introducing it here.” She adds for good measure that having two degrees will add weight to her resume<br />.<br />Sambit Mohapatra, pursuing Physics Honours from Hansraj lists another advantage, “Most government competitive exams have a paper on General Studies which means that one must have knowledge of subjects beyond the graduation course. So for those who want to go for these exams, pursuing two courses together is a good idea. It will surely involve some hard work but then you slog anyways when you drop a year and study for IAS.”<br /><br />Yashaswini Saraswat, doing Economics Hons at Hindu adds, “Sometimes, students who have just finished high school are not sure which subject to take up for graduation. So it’s good that they can take up two courses in different subjects, one through distance learning. Even if they can’t change the main degree later on, at least they will have the satisfaction of not having missed out on the better subject.” <br /> <br />“But,” she continues, “It all depends on how the student manages the two courses. Some courses like BCom and Economics are content heavy and it is almost impossible to pursue another course alongside. If a student takes up two courses in excitement and then does badly in both, he will be the one to lose finally.”<br /><br />Teachers are more skeptical regarding this programme. Tanvir Aeijaz, lecturer at Ramjas College says, “At the moment we are still not sure how to handle the additional burden created by the semester system. The students are also reeling under attendance problems, and they come out with new dual and joint degree programmes. How do they think students and teachers will cope with this?”<br /><br />“Also, the end product of education is not just job-fetching degrees. A student must turn out be a well-rounded individual. How will that be possible with students running after degrees only? Will they be left with any time for in-depth studies, interaction with fellow students and teachers or extra-curricular activities?” Certainly, questions UGC must consider before implementing this recommendation.<br /></p>
<p>Students of Delhi University are all excited at a recent recommendation made by a University Grants Commission (UGC) panel. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The panel has advised that students should be allowed to pursue two academic degrees from the same or different central universities simultaneously, one of them through distance learning mode. This means that one can do an English Honours from DU and bag a Physics Honours degree from Jamia Millia Islamia University at the same time.<br /><br />The panel also says that students should be allowed to pursue different subjects in a course from different colleges or varsities. So effectively, a BSc student can pursue Physics and Chemistry from his parent college, say DU, and do Maths from Aligarh University. This recommendation comes within a year of DU establishing a Meta University offering degrees constructed of subjects from various streams.<br /><br />Most DU students have welcomed this proposal of a US-style higher education in India. Ananya Agarwal of LSR says, “Generally, people keep interest in more than one subject. For example, I am pursuing Statistics Honours, but it involves studying Economics, Maths and Psychology as well. I have always wished if I could study these simultaneously. In fact, students move abroad for the lack of such provisions in India. I am glad they are finally introducing it here.” She adds for good measure that having two degrees will add weight to her resume<br />.<br />Sambit Mohapatra, pursuing Physics Honours from Hansraj lists another advantage, “Most government competitive exams have a paper on General Studies which means that one must have knowledge of subjects beyond the graduation course. So for those who want to go for these exams, pursuing two courses together is a good idea. It will surely involve some hard work but then you slog anyways when you drop a year and study for IAS.”<br /><br />Yashaswini Saraswat, doing Economics Hons at Hindu adds, “Sometimes, students who have just finished high school are not sure which subject to take up for graduation. So it’s good that they can take up two courses in different subjects, one through distance learning. Even if they can’t change the main degree later on, at least they will have the satisfaction of not having missed out on the better subject.” <br /> <br />“But,” she continues, “It all depends on how the student manages the two courses. Some courses like BCom and Economics are content heavy and it is almost impossible to pursue another course alongside. If a student takes up two courses in excitement and then does badly in both, he will be the one to lose finally.”<br /><br />Teachers are more skeptical regarding this programme. Tanvir Aeijaz, lecturer at Ramjas College says, “At the moment we are still not sure how to handle the additional burden created by the semester system. The students are also reeling under attendance problems, and they come out with new dual and joint degree programmes. How do they think students and teachers will cope with this?”<br /><br />“Also, the end product of education is not just job-fetching degrees. A student must turn out be a well-rounded individual. How will that be possible with students running after degrees only? Will they be left with any time for in-depth studies, interaction with fellow students and teachers or extra-curricular activities?” Certainly, questions UGC must consider before implementing this recommendation.<br /></p>
