4-year grad programme at Jamia from next session

A notification said that the UG programme will be either of a three or four-year duration with the option of multiple entry and exit options

Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) will implement four-year undergraduate programmes (FYUP) from the academic year 2024-2025 with “multiple entry and exit” feature as envisaged by the National Education Policy (2020), university officials aware of the matter said on Sunday.

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A notification from the registrar’s office dated December 8 said that the undergraduate programme will be either of a three or four-year duration with the option of multiple entry and exit options within this period.

According to the notification, the duration of the Bachelor’s degree programmes offered in the departments like sciences, life sciences, social sciences, humanities and languages, fine arts and management studies will be eight semesters (four academic years).

An official from the varsity, who did not wish to be named said: “We will implement FYUP as per NEP from the academic session 2024-2025. Value added courses and skill-enhancement courses will be introduced in the coming year as well.”

Students will be allowed to complete the 8-semester programme within a maximum stipulated period of seven years (14 semesters) including the gaps or unattended semesters or years, the notification said.

Additionally, the varsity may earmark seats for lateral entry to the second, third or fourth years. The entry programmes also have specific requirements, the notification said, adding that if a student has a diploma with 84 credits after completing two years in another university, they would be eligible to enter the third year of a Bachelor’s programme at JMI.

Students can fulfil the credit requirements by studying a major discipline, a minor discipline, ability enhancement courses, skill enhancement courses, value-added courses, summer internships and a research project, which have a stipulated number of credits that can be earned.

Meanwhile, many students and student-bodies have been protesting the implementation of FYUP. “We conducted a survey in which 92% students were against it. The consensus is that the courses do not have the same quality, and there is increased workload,” said Abhigyan, president of the All India Students Association, Delhi.

In the academic year 2022-2023, Delhi University implemented the FYUP, the idea behind which was to offer students a flexible interdisciplinary tract, while also offering mobility between institutes.