The government is said to have directed Institutions of National Importance like IITs, IIMs, IISERs and NITs to implement its policy on the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) that seeks to allow students to pursue up to 50 per cent of the curriculum of non-core subjects from institutions other than where they are enrolled.

The purported diktat on a purely academic issue has made these institutions wary of government interference and dilution of education standards achieved over years, sources said.

“The government wants the IITs and the other institutions to be registered with the ABC. If the IITs do that, they may have to accept the credits earned by students from other institutions that are also registered with the ABC. This will affect the standards of the IITs, the quality of education they offer and their brand,” a senior IIT faculty member said.

Last December, the education ministry approved key amendments to the UGC (Establishment and Operation of ABC in Higher Education) Regulations, bringing the Institutions of National Importance (INIs) under its ambit. The amended regulations have removed the quality-control criteria that universities and colleges earlier needed to follow to register with the ABC.

The ABC regulations provide for the establishment of a credit bank as a digital database of academic points. Every student can have an account in this bank.

The original regulation notified in July 2021 had stated that universities and autonomous colleges with A-grade accreditation score or those in the top 100 of the National Institutional Ranking Framework could register with the ABC. The latest amendment says any university or autonomous college and the INIs can be part of the ABC.

“How can the IITs accept the marks credits awarded by any other institution?” the professor asked.

The regulations say the registered higher education institutions shall encourage and enable students to customise or design their own degrees. Every student is required to accumulate at least 50 per cent of the credits from the institution where he or she is enrolled. The entire credits in the core papers will have to be earned from the parent institution. In case of the non-core or elective subjects, up to 50 per cent of the total curriculum can be pursued at any other registered institution.

An IISER professor said only the parent institution could grant permission to a student to redeem the credits earned from other institutions.

“Registering with the ABC means a student of an institute will be able to declare the credits he has earned from all institutions (where he has pursued courses). It, however, does not mean the parent institution will accept it. The decision of accepting credits earned from other institutions will be taken by individual IISERs,” he said.