The UGC may allow multiple degrees simultaneously

Wanting to pursue multiple degrees simultaneously? Well,The University Grants Commission may allow and has set panel to revisit the idea!

Now students might be able to fulfil their dreams and they can pursue couple of degrees from different university or maybe the same university and achieve their goals,with UGC studying whether this idea is workable or not.

Vice president Mr Bhushan Patwardhan heads the panel and is going to study about the idea of pursuing two degree programmes simultaneously from the equal university or special universities both via distance, online or part time mode.

A senior UGC official stated that “The panel was set up late last month and has already met once. Now consultations are being held with different stakeholders to explore the feasibility of the idea”. Considering what happened in 2012 when UGC had appointed a panel to see how the idea works but eventually the idea was discarded, this time too it may face similar challenges.

The committee which was formed in 2012 was headed by Vice Chancellor of Hyderabad University, Furqan Qamar, he had experimented by enrolling a student in a degree programme under regular mode and was allowed to pursue a maximum of one additional degree programme at the same time under distance mode from the same or a different university.

This experiment came to a conclusion which says two degree programmes under normal mode may not be allowed at the same time as it may create academic, administrative and logistic issues.

The  panel report had also concluded that a student pursuing a degree programme under normal mode may be allowed to pursue a maximum of one certificate, diploma, advanced diploma, PG diploma programme simultaneously either in regular or open and distance mode in the same university or from other institutions!

This plan hence didn’t work and allowing students to pursue multiple degree or programmes failed, the responses and comments which were received by the statutory councils on the committees report led to failure of this idea.

But now According to the UGC panel members, technology has got so many changes in education field and there are many people who are willing to pursue special courses besides the normal degree programmes hence it is very important and necessary to rethink the idea and create more opportunities in the youth.

As a country we have always been a big fan of education, no wonder Indians top the list of international students in most of the countries like UK, US and Australia. Additionally, the industry is changing rapidly therefore if there are programs that can help the students better equip themselves and be more job ready, the parallel degree route may actually be a huge success. Obviously it remains to be seen if the current panel meets the same outcome of 2012 panel or this time the UGC will allow for such radical changes.