The Karnataka government objected to a four-year degree programme

College Tour May-09-2024

On Wednesday, the Karnataka government, led by the Congress party, issued an order eliminating the possibility for college students to pursue a four-year honors degree beginning in the 2024–2025 academic year. On Wednesday, May 8, the Department of Higher Education issued an order about this. Additionally, it brought back the three-year degree programs that had been in place until the academic year 2021–2022.

However, the students presently enrolled in the NEP 2021–22, 2022–23, and 2023–24 batches would not be impacted by the revisions. They would stay in the current system until they earned their diploma.

According to the directive, students have been instructed to choose a college from a list of institutions that have been designated by their universities if the four-year honors degree programs are not offered in the colleges where they are enrolled.

The government defended its decision by stating that the SEP Commission, led by Prof. Sukhadeo Thorat, met with stakeholders in four revenue divisions, vice-chancellors, deans, and heads of the boards of studies of various universities, as well as held lengthy public consultations over three months.

The recommendations are grounded in historical experience, the idea of students' general interests, equity, social justice, and providing kids from various socioeconomic backgrounds with equal opportunities. The commission stated in the order that the goal of changing the degree structure and duration to four years is to bring education systems around the world, particularly the US system, into line. This will make it easier for undergraduate students to be admitted to pursue master's degrees abroad.

"Maintaining a four-year degree program could potentially limit the access of the impoverished, socially disadvantaged groups like women, students from rural areas, scheduled castes and tribes, and the poor to undergraduate education." Furthermore, it stated that one of the reasons institutions are reluctant to launch four-year UG programs is a lack of physical infrastructure and a shortage of faculty and facilities. All institutions must use the Unified University College Management System site to start the affiliation and admissions process for the 2024–25 academic year, per a government directive.

Highlights

UG degree programs have a three-year duration.
Options for major selection include three general degree majors for all six semesters, three majors through the fourth semester and a single subject specialization in the fifth and sixth semesters, or a single subject specialization beginning in the first semester with minors (examples include B.Com, BBA, BCA, and BA/BSc).
Multiple entry and exit: Following the filing of the final report, the government will determine whether to follow the suggestions on permitting a certificate after the first year and a diploma after the second year (multiple entry and exit) under NEP.
One elective: One elective is recommended in addition to the three required courses and the mandatory major course specialization courses.
Evaluation guidelines: The format for exams must be 80:20, with 20 being internal assessments and 80 being the semester-final exam.