UGC’s flexible curriculum is a positive development

While what is envisaged would work quite smoothly in a given particular university setup, there would be obstacles when we examine the curriculum in a cross-university context.

A draft framework initiated by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to bring about a new curriculum for postgraduate programmes has been approved, and it will soon be thrown open to obtain feedback from different stakeholders. Keeping in mind the National Educational Policy (NEP), the curriculum offers flexibility to students to move from one discipline that they would be pursuing to another.

The flexibility that the UGC is bringing in is quite a positive development. The exit option at different levels that students can avail of would be helpful for those who plan to pursue other career choices or realise after joining a course that they could take a break for some reason. Also, those who desire to join back after taking a break to work for a while, or for whatever reason, and join back, could do so without much hassle as it happens in the current context.

As envisaged in the new curriculum, the rather belated, and manifestly positive endeavours are an encouraging sign, and from the point of view of the students, it is a complete win-win situation. Those who have qualified with a three-year undergraduate course (UG) can, as at present, go on for the two-year postgraduate course (PG) but those who have a four-year undergraduate degree will have to do just a year’s academic work to obtain a postgraduate degree. Besides, the former set could exit out of the two-year postgraduate course after a year, if they so desire, and obtain a diploma after the undergraduate degree.

As many a university offers a major and minor at the undergraduate level, now the envisioned flexibility allows the students to go in for the postgraduate course by opting either for the major or the minor course. In the existing system, it was almost mandatory for the students to choose only the major for postgraduate studies.

Also, for those who have a three-year undergraduate degree, the second year of the postgraduate course could be devoted towards research. Integrated five-year undergraduate plus postgraduate courses are no doubt on the anvil wherein the erstwhile divide of the three-year or four-year undergraduate courses becomes obsolete. On the other hand, there could be options to exit at the end of three years of study after obtaining a UG degree or four years of study after obtaining a UG degree and diploma, instead of going on for the whole five-year course for the PG degree.

So, what all it entails is that from the rather rigid 10+2+3+2 system that prevails almost all over India, we will be moving over to other schemes such as 10+2+3+1 or 10+2+4+1 or 10+2+3+1+1 or the yet other integrated option of 10+2+5.

It is pertinent to point out here that many of the students from India who have a penchant to go overseas, particularly to British universities, for the one-year Master’s degree would still fall short of the requirement as it operates in India currently, wherein those with what amounts to the 10+2+3+1 pattern would be considered as having obtained just a diploma, as the UGC, so far, has resisted giving equivalence to 10+2+3+1 as on par with a Master’s degree from an Indian university. However, it cannot be denied that it certainly would be an improvement as currently, the one-year Master’s degree from British universities is merely in limbo as neither here nor there. So, the argued improvement is that now such students can at least have a diploma rather than just peddling a non-recognised ‘degree’.

News reports suggest that the ‘PG framework will be in sync with National Credit Framework (NCrF) for the creditisation of all learning and assignment, accumulation, storage, transfer and redemption of credits, subject to assessments’.

Besides, the new curriculum would encourage students to move from a physical presence in the classroom to an online mode, if need be. Also, the possibility of hybridising the course will come to the fore wherein those with constraints of opting for employment or for health or other personal issues could combine the online/virtual mode with an offline/physically present option.

To operationalise such a scheme of things that sounds and looks so good and innovative, at least in the Indian context, would take time for multiple reasons. While what is envisaged would work quite smoothly in a given particular university setup, there would, doubtless, be obstacles when we examine the curriculum in a cross-university context as the syllabi, pedagogies, and overall standards vary so drastically even between the different central universities themselves.

When we draw contrasts between the prevailing state universities, deemed universities, central universities, the fast-mushrooming private universities, and some institutions of national repute that offer UG and PG courses, we end up with humongous and mind-boggling issues. It is not out of place to point out that, sadly, some of the educational institutions alluded to above, just seem to exist and operate only in name and for all practical purposes are quite doomed.

So, it is a long road beset with major and minor speed-breakers that the UGC is setting in motion, and let’s hope the obstacles would be tackled and overcome as we move along. At this juncture we do have to laud the efforts of the UGC, no doubt, to have contemplated such flexibility in the curriculum; the positive results, however, may unfold gradually, and we do have to look forward to that and hope that it all augurs well.

(M A Kalam, a social anthropologist, is former Dean and Professor of Anthropology, Krea University. Views expressed are personal).

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.