UGC to unveil education system for flexible options

Higher education students of a select group of institutions will soon have the flexibility to switch from one stream to another that suits their interest and tailor their degree with a combination of courses of their choice to study at their pace.

They will also have the option to move from one institution to another to complete their programme.

To facilitate such a flexible education system and student mobility, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has moved in to set up a National Academic Credit (NAC) Bank.

The NAC-bank will serve as an online repository of the academic credits of the students opting to study under the scheme. The students, having multiple exit and entry options, can accrue and redeem their academic credits from the NAC-Bank for any academic programme “at any convenient time.”

The move is aimed at introducing a multi-disciplinary education system with multiple entry and exit options in the country on a pilot basis.

The NAC-Bank scheme is only available to those students whose institutions have agreed to join the programme and made the changes required in their rules and regulations to provide for the flexibility.

The scheme not only seeks to benefit students but also those in service and have a tendency for life long learning, as it will allow them to acquire academic credits over a longer duration, with each of the credits earned being valid for a maximum eight years for all academic and other purposes.

The UGC has proposed to launch the scheme for a limited number of postgraduate programmes of a select group of institutions to be identified, seeking suggestions from the higher education institutions on the concept.

“The proposed initiative has several strong merits to open up and strengthen Indian higher education system, while empowering all stakeholders to deliver more open-ended and student-centric education. Due to multiple entry and exit aspects, it has the potential to increase the gross enrollment ration,” the commission has stated in a concept note of the scheme.

A special group or body will be created for implementation of the NAC-bank scheme.

“The universal curriculum or degree specialization for the entire country which is designed by the central bodies or authorities can make a scope of education limited and monotonous, which may not be helpful for global competence. Keeping this and the fundamentals of student centricity in mind, the NAC-Bank scheme is proposed to be rolled out,” a UGC official said.

Studying under the scheme will not be mandatory for any student.

While the NAC-Bank will only perform three functions—credit accumulation, credit transfers and credit redemption—in coordination with the institutions, degrees and certificates will be awarded by the respective institutions, the official added.