Students Cannot Pursue Two Regular Degrees Simultaneously

According to the UGC students should not be allowed to pursue two regular degrees simultaneously. University Grants Commission (UGC) on January 19 stated that the consultations it conducted allowing students to pursue two regular degrees at the same time did not invite a positive response.

In a report to the Press Trust of India the UGC stated that,” It had sought the comments of the statutory councils but the responses so far do not endorse the idea of allowing students to pursue two degrees simultaneously.”

In a notice signed by UGC Secretary Jaspal S Sandhu said,” Therefore, the universities shall conduct their programmes in accordance with the First Degree and Master Degree Regulations, 2003 prescribed by the UGC and also follow the norms and parameters prescribed by the Statutory Council concerned, wherever relevant.”

An expert committee of the UGC in 2013 had recommended that the students enrolled in a regular degree course should be allowed to pursue an additional degree simultaneously under open or distance education mode from the same or different university.

A brief on UGC

UGC of India is a statutory body set up by the Indian Union Government in 1956 with the headquarters at New Delhi. It also has six other regional centres in Pune, Bhopal, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Guwahati and Bangalore.