UG students to soon get option to shorten, extend duration of degree courses: UGC chief
New Delhi (PTI): Higher Education Institutions will soon be able to offer an option to undergraduate students to shorten or extend their study durations instead of the standard duration of their degree programmes, according to UGC Chairman Jagadesh Kumar.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has approved the SOPs for HEIs to offer the Accelerated Degree Programme (ADP) and Extended Degree Programme (EDP) in a meeting this week. The draft norms will now be put in the public domain for feedback from stakeholders.
While the degrees will mention a self-contained note that the academic requirements required in a standard duration have been completed in a shortened or extended duration, they will be treated at par with standard duration degrees for academic and recruitment purposes.
"Students can use this option to shorten or extend their study durations based on their learning abilities. ADP allows students to complete a three-year or four-year degree in reduced time by earning additional credits per semester, while EDP enables an extended timeline with fewer credits per semester," Kumar told PTI.
"Under ADP and EDP, students earn the same total credits as in the standard-duration programme. The higher education institutions will establish committees to evaluate students' eligibility for these programmes. These degrees will be equivalent to standard duration degrees for all employment and academic purposes," he added.
According to the SOPs, the institutions may earmark up to 10 per cent of the sanctioned intake for ADP. The HEIs may constitute a committee to scrutinize applications received at the end of the first or the second semester under EDP and ADP and select students accordingly.
In the ADP, students will follow the same curriculum content and total credits prescribed for the programme for a standard duration.
"The only change will be in the duration of the programme. Students shall have the option to choose ADP either at the end of the first semester or the second semester and not beyond that. Students opting for the ADP will earn additional credits per semester starting from the second or third semester, depending on when they transition to the ADP," Kumar said.
"If they join the ADP after the first semester, they will begin earning extra credits from the second semester onward. Similarly, if they join the ADP after the second semester, the additional credit load will start from the third semester onward," he added.
In a three-year or four-year undergraduate programme, the duration may be extended up to a maximum of two semesters.
"Accordingly, students can earn fewer credits in each semester. Based on the credit structure in the Curriculum and Credit Framework for Undergraduate Programmes, the committee shall decide the minimum number of credits a student must earn in a semester in EDP," he said.
The commission has noted that the HEIs may issue degrees for students on completion of the programme in the opted duration (shortened or extended duration) and need not wait to complete the standard duration for the award of the formal degree.
"For the accelerated and extended degrees, a self-contained note should be added in the degree stating that the academic requirements required in a standard duration have been completed in a shortened or extended duration.
"For an ADP of a four-year undergraduate programme, the note should specify that the student completed the academic requirements of a four-year programme in six or seven semesters, as the case may be," Kumar said.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
