Biannual admissions

THE somewhat muted response to the announcement by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to permit admissions to higher educational institutions twice a year is on expected lines. The switch to a biannual admission process entails not only an infrastructure upgrade, but a whole series of administrative and faculty readjustments. Since it’s a voluntary provision, a majority of universities are likely to adopt a wait-and-watch approach for now. UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar would be hopeful that the scepticism is short-lived. There is merit in his argument that the decision will offer greater flexibility to the students and the institutions.

Students in India can now be admitted in January-February as well as in July-August, as is the case in most foreign universities. The UGC chairperson feels the policy will benefit students who missed admission due to a delay in the announcement of board results, health issues or personal reasons. The education regulator’s experiment of biannual admission for open and distance learning and online programmes, he claims, has helped nearly five lakh students join degree programmes without waiting one full academic year. That’s commendable, but what may work for online and distance education programmes may not necessarily turn out to be feasible for on-campus learning.

While one would advocate keeping an open mind on the new policy, what can’t be discounted are the apprehensions regarding its potential impact on educational quality. Allowing double the intake of students without ensuring a commensurate presence of qualified teaching staff can spell chaos. Phased implementation, with an ample scope for course correction, appears to be the ideal strategy. As the UGC presses for biannual admissions, it will have to ensure that the process is not misused as a money-making opportunity. The students must not lose out.