UGC may allow 3-year undergrad degrees to be finished early

UGC plans to allow faster degree completion options, enabling students to finish three-year courses in 2.5 years, raising concerns over academic quality.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) will soon allow students to complete three-year degree courses in two-and-a-half years, and four-year ones in three years, the body’s chairman said on Thursday. UGC will also give students the option to extend their three-year degree by a year and make provisions for several entry and exit points throughout the course.

The new structure will, inversely, also accommodate students who wish to take longer to complete their studies. (HT File)

UGC chairman M Jagadesh Kumar explained that students who can complete their degrees faster than others will be allowed to do so.

Kumar said, “We are planning to implement this from the next academic session and the guidelines should be out soon.”

“In the coming years, students who are capable can complete the degree programmes in a shorter duration. We anticipate that they can gain six months to one year,” Kumar said at the southern zone conference for autonomous colleges in Chennai

The new structure will, inversely, also accommodate students who wish to take longer to complete their studies, he said. These students will be able to take breaks during their courses. The plan is based on recommendations by a committee led by IIT Madras director V Kamakoti.

Kumar said detailed guidelines around the new structure will be issued soon.

However, the proposal raised concerns among some academics.

Mithuraaj Dhusiya, professor at Delhi University and member of the Delhi University standing committee, criticised the move, arguing that the move could lead to core course content being slashed.

“The core content has already gone down and UGC is just playing with the idea of four years, three years, 2.5 years,” Dhusiya said.

To be sure, the 2020 National Education Policy asked universities to have a four year UG course that students could opt for if they want to conduct research in the fourth year. A student would get the “honours” degree tag only if they opt for the 4th year.

DU professor Abha Dev Habib said, “The sequence and depth of courses in a degree program are designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of their field, and compressing these programs can undermine this academic rigor. If the aim is to offer an honours degree in three years, one might question the necessity of a 4-year program in the first place, as it suggests that much of the content in the fourth year is not essential.

“Further, this may inadvertently contribute to a crisis of employability. Students may be pushed into the job market without the necessary academic preparation, with their degrees potentially becoming devalued. By reducing the time allotted for degree completion and cutting the number of credits for individual courses, the UGC risks compromising the academic depth and quality of education,” she said.