VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government has redesigned the curriculum framework of 4-year UG honours degree programme into a single major from the 2023-24 academic year.
This is in accordance with the National Education Policy-2020 under the UGC’s new student-centric “Curriculum and Credit Framework for Under graduate Programmes (CCFUP)”, incorporating a flexible choice-based credit system, multidisciplinary approach and multiple entry and exit options.
The AP state council of higher education has redesigned the curricular framework for the 4-Year honours UG programmes with a single major and one minor and this is changing degree course to four years from the present three years.
Prof K Hemachandra Reddy, chairman of the state council of higher education said this would be effective from 2023-24. “This is a flexible choice-based credit system with a multidisciplinary approach and multiple entry and exit options. This would facilitate students to pursue their career path by choosing the subject/field of their interest."
Prof Reddy said this redesigned programme is mandatory for all colleges-government, aided and private, unaided institutions across the state.
“The existing degree programmes including B.Sc, BA etc need to be converted into single-major programmes. Pursuing an honours degree in a single major provides the opportunity for a student to have an in-depth study of a particular subject or discipline. Along with a single major, a student shall also study one minor. A student is eligible to pursue a postgraduate (PG) in the minor he/she selected along with the subject selected as a major. The minor courses are assigned with 24 credits, required for admission into a PG program in a particular subject.”
Explaining that the students will have a variety of choices in selecting minors for the study cutting across disciplines, Reddy said, thus, a science student may opt for economics, history, music, yoga, design-thinking, data science or any other subject of market relevance.
Similarly, those doing BA, B.Com, BBA etc also can pursue the subject of their interest as a minor. A student is required to opt for a minor after completing the first semester.
“The minor shall stand as an open vertical. Students shall choose any vertical of choice offered either offline by the college or online by SWAYAM, NPTEL, UGC, or any other Edu Tech Company approved by the respective affiliating university and APSCHE” he added.
Vice chairman of APSCHE, Prof. Ramamohan Rao, said a college can offer multiple verticals of minor programmes offline or online based on the availability of required infrastructural facilities and faculty resources. The 10-month mandatory internship including a community service project, short-term internship and semester internship would continue.
“We offered single majors in 53 areas and the management of the colleges will opt a few of them based on the demand and facilities available on the premises,” he added.
