One year of NEP in Karnataka: No student opts to exit yet

One of the highlights of the National Education Policy (NEP) is the option for students to exit at multiple levels of their course.

In Karnataka, no undergraduate student from the maiden NEP batch has taken the exit option after completing first year of their course, according to authorities.

Karnataka became the first state to adopt NEP in higher education. There were 4.46 lakh undergraduate students who enrolled in the 2021-22 academic year. They are in their second year now.

Karnataka State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) vice-chairman B Thimme Gowda said no student left after the first year, citing data compiled from all state-run universities.

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However, KSHEC has instructed universities to provide short-term skill training to students who wish to exit after first or second year.

"Universities have to provide at least two months of skill-based training," Gowda, a former Bangalore University vice-chancellor, said.

Universities could even offer courses available in online mode and this is basically to prevent students from dropping out, he said.

"If students have a reason to exit - if they have a job offer or want to study some other course - they will be allowed to go. But those who fail to provide proper reasons for the exit must undergo a short-term skill-based training," Gowda said.

Under NEP, students who exit after completing one year of the undergraduate programme get a certificate.

"It will be difficult to issue a certificate after just the first year of the course. So, we have decided to bring it under the National Skill Qualification Framework as per University Grants Commission directions. It is easy to issue certificates if they have some skill-based training," Gowda said.

NEP offers students multiple exit options, so that they can rejoin the course after a break.

Exiting students will get a certificate upon completing one year, a diploma certificate after two years, a degree certificate after three years and a 'bachelors with research' certificate after four years.