UGC Panel Recommends Moving To Four-Year System For Undergraduate Courses To Boost Research

As part of plans to improve research quality in Indian higher education institutions, a four-member committee of the University Grants Commission (UGC) has given its recommendation for switching from the current three-year system for most undergraduate courses to a four-year system, reports The Indian Express.

It was only five years ago that the Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) was withdrawn.

Similar to the recommendation of the UGC panel, a Human Resources Ministry (HRD) committee which is involved in coming up with a new National Education Policy (NEP) has also advised moving towards a four year system.

“Increase the number of universities offering the four-year undergraduate programme, with a strong research component to provide the pipeline for good quality students for the doctoral programme,” the UGC committee says in its report.

The committee envisions ensuring that all full-time undergraduate courses be broad-based. The HRD ministry panel for its part doesn’t want to do away with three-year courses entirely, but to have them co-exist with new four-year programmes.

Currently most bachelor’s degrees in India are based on three-year courses. Internationally, there are some notable examples like the United States (US) which follow a four-year norm.