The Andhra Pradesh State Council for Higher Education (APSCHE) is introducing a 4-year honours degree programme in a single major from the academic year 2023-24.
Addressing the media here on June 18 (Sunday), Council Vice-Chairman K. Rama Mohana Rao said that though the APSCHE had redesigned the choice-based credit system in 2015-16 and rolled out a 4-year UG honours programme from the year 2020-21 in consonance with the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020, it had to redesign the curricular framework for the 4-year honours programmes with a single major and one minor after the UGC released guidelines for a new student-centric ‘Curriculum and Credit Framework and Undergraduate Programmes’ (CCFUP).
The CCFUP incorporates a flexible choice-based credit system, multi-disciplinary approach and multi entry and exit options to facilitate students to pursue their career path by choosing the subject / field of their interest.
‘Mandatory for all colleges’
Prof. Rama Mohana Rao said the redesigned 4-year honours programme with a single major was mandatory for all colleges — government, aided and private unaided. He said the existing three major degree programmes needed to be converted into single major programme.
He said an honours degree in a single major would give the students an opportunity to pursue an in-depth study of a particular subject or discipline, and equip them with the knowledge required to pursue a Ph.D that needed independent learning and research.
“Along with the single major, the students will also study one minor course, which can be done either in the online or offline mode. The minor courses are introduced to enhance the employability skills of students,” he explained.
The minor course is offered as an open vertical, and students can choose either offline mode at the college or online platforms such as Swayam, NPTEL, UGC, or any other Edu Tech company.
Students will be eligible to pursue a postgraduate (PG) course in the minor selected, as the minor courses are assigned with 24 credits required for admission into PG programme in a particular subject.
Multidisciplinary courses
Council’s Academic Officer G. Mathew Srirangam said all the UG students were needed to undergo multidisciplinary courses, intended to broaden their intellectual experience and form part of liberal arts and science education.
He said the three multidisciplinary courses in five disciplines included natural and physical sciences; mathematics, statistics and computer applications, library, information and media sciences; commerce and management; and humanities and social sciences.
He said, to enhance students’ skills, a pool of skill enhancement courses would be designed by incorporating business skills, technology skills, data science and digital and human skills.
Environment education
“Besides, environment education is introduced as a common value added course in addition to courses in English and one modern Indian language,” he said.
To create awareness among the students who have passed Intermediate and are seeking admission in degree programmes, the APSCHE is organising a workshop for them at Fr. Devaiah auditorium of Andhra Loyola College on June 19 (Monday).
