UG, PG aspirants can soon seek admission in any discipline irrespective of subject previously studied

New Delhi: The government on Thursday issued draft guidelines for flexibility in admissions in undergraduate and postgraduate courses. The Draft UGC (Minimum Standards of Instructions in the Award of UG and PG Degrees) Regulations 2024, when finalised, will allow students to take admissions at two different time periods in a year, let students change streams and also drop out of a course to them take it up later.

As per the guidelines, undergraduate or postgraduate colleges will now have the provisions of biannual admissions – in July-August and then in January-February every academic year. Higher education institutions will also have the provisions for multiple entry and exit of students – which means that a student can leave a course to pick it up again. Students will also have the option to pursue two programmes simultaneously.

The draft rules cover any undergraduate or postgraduate college that comes under any university established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act, or a State Act, and all institutions deemed to be universities under Section 3 of the UGC Act 1956 will come under the purview of the guidelines.

As per the rules, a student will be eligible for admission in any discipline of undergraduate or postgraduate programme if the student qualifies the National level or University level entrance examination in that particular discipline, irrespective of the disciplines the student had opted for in class 12 or in undergraduate.

UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar said that the rules aim to have greater flexibility, inclusivity, and multidisciplinary learning opportunities for students. “We have also decoupled eligibility for UG and PG admissions from the rigid discipline-specific requirements of school education. Under these regulations students can choose to study in any programme irrespective of their past disciplinary qualification if they demonstrate their competency by clearing the relevant entrance examinations. Recognising the diverse learning modes promoted by NEP 2020, these regulations provide autonomy to higher education institutions to determine student attendance requirements, ensuring they align with evolving academic needs,” Kumar said.

While institutes will decide on a maximum intake for each admission period as well as the minimum attendance requirement of students in different programmes with the approval of their statutory bodies, a student will have to earn a minimum of 50% of total credits in a discipline to earn an undergraduate degree with a major in that discipline. The student will have the option of working for the remaining 50% credits by choosing skill courses, apprenticeships and multidisciplinary subjects.

Duration of an undergraduate degree could either be 3 or 4 years, and a postgraduate degree could be either 1 or 2 years. However, as per the SoP for the Accelerated Degree Programme (ADP) and Extended Degree Programme (EDP), passed by the higher education body late last month, UG students in 3-year programmes can shorten their duration by a semester, and those in 4-year programmes can shorten it to seven semesters.

“With these reforms, we ensure that Indian higher education evolves to meet global standards while staying rooted in inclusivity and adaptability to diverse learner needs,” Kumar said.