UGC panel recommends introduction of 4 Year Undergraduate Programme

UGC panel has recommended introduction of a Four Year Undergraduate Programme as part of its report submitted to the commission. In its recent report, the UGC committee in its report titled “Promoting and Improving the Quality of Research in Indian Universities/ Colleges" has said that 4 year undergraduate programmes will help in improving the overall quality of research in colleges and universities across India.

Four Year Undergraduate Programmes are not a completely new concept. In fact, they were introduced by University of Delhi, 5 years before, under the regime of previous Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh. However, the same was scrapped by the then HRD Minister Smriti Irani. In addition to the UGC constituted four member panel, a panel appointed by the HRD Ministry has also recently recommended introduction of 4 year undergraduate courses. The HRD ministry panel led by former ISRO Chief K Kasturirangan has been working on the new National Education Policy (NEP).

The committee in its report said that “"Increase the number of universities offering the four-year undergraduate programme, with a strong research component to provide the pipeline for good quality students for the doctoral programme.

Furtermore, the report also added that “the existing two-year MA and MSc programs should have a research project with a requirement of typically 6-10 credits. It may be important to stop undergraduate programmes that are limited in scope (for example in specialised subjects like Biotechnology or Bioinformatics ), as they provide training only in specialised subjects. All full-time under-graduate programmes must be broad-based. Professional and vocational courses that facilitate jobs should be run separately as Diploma courses.”

The 4 member UGC committee which has recommended introduction of Four Year Undergraduate Programme includes led by Professor P Balaram, former Director, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. In addition to report on improving Quality of Research, the committee has also submitted another report on “Creation of New Knowledge and Strategies for Improving Research Culture in Colleges/ Universities”, which proposes reforms on Minimum Standards and Procedures for award of M.Phil./ Ph.D degrees.

After the submission of the report, University Grants Commission has invited feedback and suggestions on the report by 16th August 2019.