Students today are striving to equip themselves with as many educational qualifications as possible given the level of competition existing in various sectors. Pursuing a single degree though demands 2-4 years of one’s lifetime, which leaves very little scope for students to pursue another degree in another field. Now, however, students need not feel dejected as they are now allowed to pursue more than two degrees simultaneously. The UGC (Union Grants Commission) has recently allowed students in India to apply for and pursue two degrees at the same time by giving its approval for the Dual Degree Provision.
The UGC (Union Grants Commission of India) is a statutory body of the Government of India that was set up under the Ministry of Human Resource Development to ensure and maintain the standards of higher education in the country. In a recent committee meeting held under UGC vice-chairperson Bhushan Patwardhan, the UGC approved the proposal of letting students pursue two degrees simultaneously. The proposal also had a few criteria related to the Dual Degree Provision. Those wanting to pursue two degrees can do so and that too from different institutes. However, one of the two degrees has to be through online distance learning (ODL) as pursuing a degree through a regular mode requires students to fulfil the minimum attendance requirement.
Students can also pursue both degrees from the same institution, provided it offers the online mode of learning. The UGC has approved this proposal to enable students to expand their career opportunities and prospects. As reported by the Press Trust of India, the UGC secretary, Rajnish Jau has 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.”
With this coming as positive news, let’s look forward to the UGC guidelines and start applying for dual degrees.
