UGC now allows students to pursue two academic programmes at once

On April 12, the University Grants Commission (UGC) announced that students will now be permitted to pursue two full-time academic degrees in physical mode. The commission has developed a set of guidelines on the subject, which are currently available on the UGC's official website. Previously, students could only take one full-time degree combined with online/short-term/diploma courses, therefore they could not study two full-time programmes.

According to reports, guidelines will apply to all programmes available throughout the country. Students can choose between a diploma programme and an undergraduate (UG) degree, two master's degree programmes, or two bachelor's degree programmes. If a student is entitled to pursue a postgraduate (PG) degree and also wants to enrol in a bachelor's degree in a different area, he or she will be able to study both the UG and PG degrees concurrently, but the class timing for both programmes must not clash.

The guidelines will apply to all programmes offered throughout the country. Students can select between a diploma programme and an undergraduate (UG) degree, two master's programmes, or two bachelor's programmes. Students can choose from a wide range of fields, such as a Science UG taking on a Social Sciences degree, and vice versa.

"It was decided at the last commission meeting on March 31 to issue guidelines that will allow students to pursue two academic programmes simultaneously because the NEP 2020 emphasises the need to facilitate multiple pathways to learning involving both formal and non-formal education forms, in the sense that a combination of the physical model, as well as the online form, should be used to provide more freedom to the students to acquire multiple skills," UGC chairman, Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar said in a press interview.