UGC allows students to pursue two Degrees at the Same Time, confirms UGC Chairman Jagadesh Kumar

UGC permits 2 Degrees Simultaneously: In a major move that will benefit thousands of students, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has made a major announcement with regards to degree courses. The commission has announced that it will allow students to pursue two-degree courses simultaneously. The decision which will have a long-lasting and major impact on the higher education sector will pave the way for students to join two academic programmes at the same time and earn multiple degrees.

News Confirmed by UGC Chairman

The news about UGC’s landmark decision allowing students to take up two-degree programmes has been confirmed by UGC Chairman as well. Addressing a virtual meeting on 12th April, UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar said that going forward, students will be able to pursue two full-time academic programmes simultaneously either at the same university or from different universities. He also added that the detailed guidelines and UGC will soon issue detailed guidelines in this regard. 

Decision in line with National Education Policy 2022

The decision to allow students to pursue two different degree programmes at the same time was announced by the UGC at its meeting held on 31st March 2022. At the meeting, the proposal was discussed in detail and was found to be in line with the new National Education Policy 2022, which focuses on the need to facilitate multiple pathways to learning. In his statement, Mr Kumar also added that "a combination of physical and online mode should be used to give much more freedom to acquire multiple skills." 

UGC Guidelines 

• Not only 2 courses in physical mode, but students can also pursue 1 course in full-time physical mode with another in online or open, distance learning mode.
• A student can pursue 2 full-time academic programmes in the physical mode provided the class timings of one programme do not overlap with the other programme. 
• Students can also pursue one online programme with another online programme. 

Acquiring Knowledge Across Domains

With this, students can gain new knowledge across domains. The guidelines will come into effect after an announcement on the website of UGC - ugc.ac.in tomorrow on 13th April 2022. The guidelines can be adopted by the governing statutory bodies, and higher education institutions (HEIs). Whether the attendance will be compulsory or not will be decided by the universities, UGC does not mandate it. This is optional to the universities, not mandatory. 

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