As of June 2023 different states in India have gone to different levels in implementing the NEP 2020 guidelines for higher education institutions. The NEP 2020 implementation will be drawing guidelines from National credit and curriculum framework .While there needs to be uniformity in the entry and exit options available to students indifferent state universities the current status as chronicled below presents a state of disharmony in many issues among different state universities. Let us have a look of current status of NEP 2020 implementation in different states as far as Higher Education sector is concerned. The center government has come up with the following portal
UTSAH-The UGC developed portal will effectively track and support the implementation of NEP2020 .It is acronym for Undertaking transformative Strategies and Actions in Higher Education. It will also provide detailed information about UGC’s initiative for qualitative reforms in higher education.\
Professor of practice
the UGC has taken a new initiative to bring the industry and other professional expertise into the academic institutions through a new category of positions called Professor of Practice. This will help to take real world practices and experiences into the class rooms and also augment the faculty resources in higher education institutions.
While some states like Karnataka and Maharashtra are not decisive about the way forward the following states are as stated below with regards to NEP implementation:
West Bengal
On June 23rd, 2023, the University of Calcutta has, announced a new course structure under the National Education Policy for over 150 colleges under its umbrella. The university has done away with the traditional honours and general course for undergraduate students. Instead the courses have been renamed as B.A/B.Sc.degree programme and three-year B.A./B.Sc. (multidisciplinary) degree programme. It has also done away with the prescribed duration of the curriculum as students can clear all semesters within seven years.
Possible areas of concerns
Reskilling teachers in a short span of time.
Infrastructure bottlenecks
Kerala
Kerala University will offer four-year undergraduate honours courses starting this academic year. B.A.(Hons.) in Language and Communication Skills, Politics and Public Administration; B.Sc.(Hons.)in Life Science; and B.Com.(Hons.).These course... commence at the Kariavattom Campus of the University. Additionally, the B.Com. (Hons.) courses will also be introduced in UITs (University Institute of Technology), operated by the university.
The B.A. (Hons.) course is designed after courses of Delhi University and Banaras Hindu University, while the B.Sc. (Hons.) course draws inspiration from Indian Institute of Science program. Affiliated colleges interested in starting the 4 year degree program from next year have to submit their letters of interest. The state government is starting with only the 4 year honours program.
Academic conferences attended by the state education minister is planned in the first week of July for the different state universities like M.G University, Kannur University, Kerala University, Calicut University. Participation of various university bodies, including the senate, syndicate, academic council and boards of studies is expected at these meetings. Principals of affiliated colleges will also attend. Sub-committees have been established to assess different aspects of the new curriculum and design them based on the specific circumstances of each university. A total of seven sub committees have been formed at Mahatma Gandhi University and they are likely to submit their report by Dec 31,2023.The preparation focuses on:
(a) Training members of Board of studies, followed by teachers .The Kerala state higher education council will be responsible for identifying the necessary master trainers and training them by August 15.
(b) The model syllabus for the foundation courses which will be the first phase of FYUP. University will discuss a draft curriculum and provide feedback to the curriculum committee.
(c) Approval of the academic councils and boards of studies of the respective universities will be sought for the final curriculum. The credit based four year degree program, the evaluation method for each course will be determined according to the nature of the subject.
Online presence of the state in Higher education domain –University of Calicut offers 25 courses, while Kerala university offers 22 courses and Sreenarayanaguru Open university, Kollam offers 7 UGC recognised courses.
Gujarat
Government of Gujarat has come up with a roadmap for implementing NEP 2020 by 2030.This comprehensive roadmap had created responsibility on different Gujarat University UG, PG Courses: As per the latest updates, Gujarat University will change the duration of Undergraduate (UG) courses from 3 years to 4 years. Similarly, the duration of postgraduate (PG) courses will be reduced to 1 year from the existing 2 years. These changes in the duration of UG and PG Courses were decided in the GU syndicate meeting and will be effective from the academic year 2023-24.
A common credit system, multi-disciplinary education, and a flexible entry and exit strategy have been put in place beginning June 2023. In a move set under the Common University Act, the draft resolution has outlined a minimum requirement of 60 common credits for three-year undergraduate courses in core subjects, and 80 for four-year courses. This accounts for 50% of the total credits needed for the course.
For three-year undergraduate courses, a total of 120 credits, inclusive of 24 for minor courses, internships, and skills-based courses, have been set. Meanwhile, four-year undergraduate courses will require a total of 160 credits, including 32 for minor courses, as confirmed by officials in the education department. This newly established credit system, which has been carefully crafted after consultations with vice chancellors at various state universities and industry experts, allows universities the freedom to design their own credit systems. The maximum credits have been set at 132 for three-year undergraduate courses, and 176 for four-year courses.
“Students can exit courses at multiple stages based on the credits earned. A student exiting after the first year with the required credits can earn a certificate or a diploma at the end of the second year, then take a break and return to pursue a degree,” an official explained. Contrary to the conventional practice of providing students with a rigid syllabus, this common credit system and flexible subject selection will empower students. Furthermore, it will enable students to transfer between educational institutes as per established norms.
In terms of new academic offerings, officials said universities would commence three and four-year honors degree courses from the academic year 2023 on a voluntary basis. A four-year honors and honors with research program (level 6) may also be introduced from 2026-27.
“All student credits and recognition, accumulation, credit transfer will be executed following the credit redemption system. This means students can pursue courses from UGC approved institutes, earn credits to be stored in the academic bank of credits, and earn a degree as per the norms,” the official added.
Assam
The higher education institutions have to constitute a three member task force under the chairmanship of the respective Registrar/Principal of all state/private Universities of Assam and Government/provincialized colleges of Assam. This task force will be responsible for execution, coordination and communication with the Directorate of Higher education , Assam.
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