Maharashtra: Universities are planning undergrad courses as PG seats remain vacant

MUMBAI: State university campuses, which are predominantly recognized for postgraduate (PG) education, will soon begin offering a variety of undergraduate (UG) courses. UG courses are currently mostly offered at affiliated colleges or state universities.

The Maharashtra government is pressuring all state institutions to expand their undergraduate curricula in response to low enrollment in PG courses across campus departments. The University Grants Commission (UGC) rules for the National Education Policy (NEP), which mandates that universities provide multidisciplinary education from UG to PhD, are also by this. Less than 5,000 students are enrolled in some universities' departments, which is sometimes not even half the number of students at larger individual institutions. According to officials, it is anticipated to decrease even further if associated colleges begin to fully provide one-year PG studies in addition to four-year UG programs.

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Enrollment in PG courses will increase if university departments launch four-year UG programs. There are vacancies in a few public university courses. Conversely, enrollment is rising at colleges that have launched creative UG and PG degrees.

Since universities are independent institutions, the government is not allowed to interfere in their academic affairs. However, the state has recommended they to start providing additional UG programs, boost enrollment, and utilize resources as efficiently as possible. According to a government official, enrollment in certain postgraduate departments at several universities is currently between 3,000 and 4,000, which is lower than at some larger colleges. According to the official, offering UG programs on campus will also enable universities to directly participate in committees that create UG syllabuses, which are presently predominantly made up of instructors from associated colleges.

"There is also concern that students may wish to remain enrolled at the same college once more colleges, as is anticipated of them, begin providing PG programs under NEP and do not enroll in university departments," said a senior official at one of the universities. Universities can accept candidates straight into the Ph.D. program if they have four-year UG students with better CGPAs. Offering them an integrated package from UG to PhD is the plan. Certain colleges may need more time because it will involve building out their physical infrastructure.

Currently, NEP has only been initiated by autonomous colleges. Currently, Mumbai University has the largest PG enrolment, according to data from individual universities. Vice-chancellor Ravindra Kulkarni stated that further five-year integrated programs in cutting-edge multidisciplinary fields with a variety of entry and exit options are being considered. In the words of Kulkarni, "We already have a few UG programs on campus that are designed after NEP and we plan to add a few courses from 2024-25."

D T Shirke, vice-chancellor of Shivaji University, stated that they began developing the UG curriculum during NEP implementation. "We were the first to offer a BA in sports as well as a BSc and MSc integrated economics program." We intend to begin BA and BCom programs as well. In the long run, when schools de-affiliate from universities and become self-sustaining degree-awarding bodies, universities must also be self-sustaining in terms of enrollment," he said.