Four-year UG programmes to be rolled out in State on July 1
Kerala’s higher education institutions are set to usher in four-year undergraduate programmes on July 1.
Providing students with a greater degree of freedom in customising their courses by opting for subject combinations of their choice, the four-year programmes will diªer from the existing courses with an overhauled curricula that prioritise skill enhancement and overseas compatibility.
Higher Education Minister R. Bindu said here on Friday that the reform would enable students to pursue three broad pathways, viz., three-year UG degree, four-year UG honours degree, and fouryear UG honours with research degree.
Students who choose to exit after three years will with awarded a UG degree in their respective major discipline after successfully completing the required minimum of courses of 133 credits. A four-year UG honours degree will be awarded to those who complete the programme with a specic number of courses of 177 credits. Students who aspire to pursue research as a career can opt for the honours with research stream in the fourth year.
The new system will also facilitate inter-university transfers midway through one’s course period.
The four-year degree programme will also enable students to complete the programmes faster than the stipulated period by completing course requirements and obtaining the necessary credits in N-1 semesters (where N is the number of semesters in a UG programme). For instance, a student requiring a three-year UG degree can do so in two-and-a-half years, Dr. Bindu told mediapersons.