The Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) is all set to roll out the restructured postgraduate (PG) programmes in the new academic year of 2024-25 as per the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020.
In 2020-21, APSCHE introduced four-year undergraduate (UG) honours and honours with research programmes, with an exit option after the third year of study. In the last academic year (2023-24), it rolled out the option of four-year UG honours with a single major and minor/s and honours with research programmes with multiple entry and exit options after each year of study.
“Now it is imperative to redesign the curricular framework of PG programmes in accordance with the redesigned four-year UG honours programmes as well as the NEP,” said APSCHE chairman K. Hemachandra Reddy.
An expert committee was constituted to implement the same, headed by APSCHE vice-chairman K. Rama Mohana Rao as its chairman, academic officer G. Srirangam Mathew as convenor and four other academicians as members. Based on the committee’s recommendations and the guidance of Mr. Reddy, a model curriculum framework and guidelines for the redesigned PG programmes were produced.
After a series of round-table conferences at universities across the State to discuss the key components, APSCHE compiled two volumes of reports which would serve as guidelines for universities to restructure their PG curriculum.
Multiple options
Under the new system, students would have two options for a two-year PG programme: the first one with coursework in the first year (first and second semester) and research in the second year (third and fourth semester) and the second with coursework in the first three semesters and project work in the fourth semester. Universities can choose either of the two options or both, as per their requirements.
An exit offer for a two-year PG programme will be offered at the end of the first year, and the student will be awarded a PG diploma after completing all courses of the first year and allowed to take admission and continue the programme within three years of the exit date.
A student with a four-year UG honours degree will be eligible for lateral entry into the second year or third semester of the two-year PG programme with either research in the third and fourth semester or coursework only in the third semester and project work in the fourth semester.
Moreover, students of the redesigned PG programme will have the option to pursue two academic programmes simultaneously. “The new system provides students a chance to pursue two full-time academic programmes in the physical mode if there is no overlap of class timings. The student can also pursue one full-time course in physical mode and another through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) or online mode, or they can take up both programmes simultaneously in online mode,” said Mr. Reddy.
