The Central University of Kerala (CUK) will start more four-year degree programmes in line with the suggestions under the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The programmes will be started this year under the Departments of Education and International Relations, said Joseph Koyippally, NEP 2020 implementation coordinator, CUK, here on Tuesday.
The Department of Education is launching integrated teacher education programmes in BSc BEd (Physics), BSc BEd (Zoology), BA BEd (English), BA BEd (Economics) and BCom BEd. The BCom BEd programme has 50 seats and others have 25 seats each.
The existing three-year undergraduate programme in International Relations will be converted into a four-year undergraduate programme from this year. The programme is BA Honours with research in International Relations.
Prof. Koyippally said students can obtain a major degree in the major elective subject and minor degree in other subjects as part of the same course. It is also possible to conduct research in the major subject in the final year, and a student who does this can join PhD without a PG.
Four-year programmes are under consideration in various other departments too. Also under discussion is the introduction of multi-disciplinary undergraduate courses involving multiple departments, he added.
Through this, students will get more opportunities in the field of higher education. Kerala, and especially Kasaragod district, will benefit. About ₹70-crore worth of infrastructure work will start soon. First priority is to build classrooms, laboratories, hostels and so on.
Dean of Academics Amrit G. Kumar said that the CUK is the first university in Kerala to revise its curriculum to implement the new NEP. The university has already implemented all the major directives of the new policy, he said.
He explained that students who complete one year of postgraduate course in the university will receive a diploma certificate. Students who drop out after one year can come back and complete the course within four years. Any other university or college can also be chosen for this.
Internships are also made mandatory for students in various institutions. Each department of study offers courses specifically to students to acquire career-related skills. Students can also take accredited online courses and courses from other universities or colleges, he added.
