UGC okays double degrees

New Delhi: In a first, the government has decided to allow students to pursue two full-time and same-level degree programmes in physical mode simultaneously either at the same university or from different universities, UGC chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar said on Tuesday.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) will soon issue detailed guidelines in this regard and the option will be available to students from the 2022-23 academic session.

“As announced in the new National Education Policy (NEP) and in order to allow students to acquire multiple skills, UGC is coming up with new guidelines to allow a candidate to pursue two degree programmes in physical mode simultaneously,” Kumar said.

“The degrees can either be pursued from the same or different universities. Students will also be allow-ed to pursue two degree programmes in physical and online mode,” he said.

The UGC had been planning such a move for a long time, but received the go-ahead for it in 2020. It had set up a committee in 2012 as well to examine the idea, and consultations were held, but ultimately the idea was junked.

Kumar said the two programmes opted by students at the same time have to be of the same level. For instance, they can only pursue two undergraduate or two postgraduate, or two diploma degrees together, he said. For now, the two degrees will only be non-technical programmes that are approved by the UGC.

They can be a combination of subjects from different streams, that is humanities, science and commerce, and admission will be granted depending on the eligibility of the student and the availability of programmes. He said it will not be mandatory for any university to adopt these guidelines, but it is hoping that more institutions will allow students to pursue two degrees.