Universities are now able to enroll students twice a year thanks to the University Grants Commission (UGC). The UGC’s latest judgment implies that students can now get admissions in January/February and in July/August for the upcoming academic session, whereas previous restrictions only permitted admission during July-August.
M Jagadesh Kumar On Admissions Twice A Year
“Every university offers admissions in July/August. In addition to this, if they wish to offer programs in January, they are welcome to”, says the UGC Chairman.
“The situation can be unique to a particular institution; the challenges can vary from institution to institution. The UGC provides the broader regulatory framework enabling the institutions to work out the details themselves and implement it if they think they can do,” he continued.
Regarding the possibility that colleges may now be able to admit students to distinct courses during the two admission cycles, he clarifies,
“It is a choice for them…depending on the infrastructure that is available. For a science program, if they find that for the students admitted in the July session lab facilities are used in the daytime, they may want to use lab facilities in the evening for the session that began in January, so that there is better utilization of resources available in universities.”
Why Did UGC Allow Biannual Admissions?
Regarding the justification behind the UGC’s decision to permit biannual admissions, Kumar stated that the organization discovered during the online and ODL trials that about 500,000 students who would have previously had to wait a full year to enroll in these programs were able to do so as early as January.
“There is a possibility that even in the physical mode, students who have missed admissions for various reasons in July/August will have the opportunity to join in January instead of waiting for one full year. It is also a global practice. It also has the potential to increase the GER (Gross Enrollment Ratio) also,” he mentioned.
Admissions Based On Entrance Exams
Regarding programs where admissions are determined by entrance exams, the Chairman of the UGC stated,
“For PhD admissions, currently all universities admit in July. We are conducting UGC-NET twice a year. So, universities can now begin to admit twice a year in PhD programs. For postgraduate programs, CUET (PG) is not mandatory, it is only an option and many universities admit based on their own entrance exam or marks in undergraduate programs. Now they can offer biannual admissions in masters programs.”
CUET (UG) is not required for other universities offering undergraduate programs, except central universities.
“They use a combination of admission criteria including CUET (UG) scores, their own entrance exam, and board exam marks. If any university wants to start UG programs in a second session, they are free to do it,” the UGC chairman said.
Entrance Exams To Be Held Twice A Year?
The clarification stated,
“Entrance exams are now technology-driven. Ideally, if they are conducted twice a year, it will be beneficial to students. One by one we are trying to implement that. Over some time, I hope we will have most entrance exams conducted by the NTA twice a year”.
In A Nutshell
Biannual admissions, according to the UGC chairman, will make it easier for higher education institutions (HEIs). It would help them to organize the allocation of their resources, such as professors, labs, classrooms, and support services. Additionally, according to Kumar, this will result in better functional flow within the university.
According to Kumar, admissions to institutions are currently conducted twice a year worldwide. Increased international cooperation and student exchanges might benefit Indian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) if they adopted a similar biannual admission time frame. As a result, he pointed out, this would improve global competitiveness and bring education into line with worldwide standards.
However, according to Kumar, universities are not required to provide admissions every two years. Higher education establishments that possess the requisite resources and faculty members have the option to take advantage of this chance.
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