Students will soon be able to pursue two degree courses simultaneously: UGC official

Students will soon be allowed to pursue two degree courses simultaneously. However, the proposal is to be accepted by UGC upon one condition. Check details below.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) will soon let students pursue two degree courses simultaneously in the same or different streams. According to a UGC Official, UGC is giving its nod to a proposal in this regard.

However, the acceptance to the proposal is on one condition that one of the two degrees will have to be pursued through regular mode and the other will be pursued through online distance learning (ODL). UGC Secretary Rajnish Jain said, “The proposal was approved in the recent commission meeting for simultaneous dual degrees for students in India, allowing students to complete courses in the same or different streams at the same time. One of the two degrees, however, has to be through regular mode and the other has to be through online distance learning.”

Mr Jain further added that UGC will soon release an official notification in this regard. In 2019, UGC along with a panel headed by its Vice Chairman, Bhushan Patwardhan discusses the issue of pursuing two degree programmes simultaneously from the same university or different universities either through distance mode, online mode or part-time mode.

The discussion on the same proposal took place in 2012 as well. However, after several discussions, the idea was junked.  In 2012 committee headed by then Vice-Chancellor of the Hyderabad University, Furqan Qamar, recommended that a student enrolled in a degree programme under regular mode may be allowed to pursue a maximum of one additional degree programme simultaneously under open or distance mode from the same or a different university.

According 2012 panel reports said, “However, two degree programmes under regular mode may not be allowed simultaneously as it may create logistic, administrative and academic problems. A student pursuing a degree programme under regular 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.”

However, according to UGC officials, the comments and responses received from the statutory councils on the committee’s report did not endorse the idea of allowing students to pursue multiple degree programmes simultaneously. Hence the plan did not take off.

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