St Xavier’s College, Park Street, is working on a plan to start an integrated programme that will enable students to pursue undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD in the same subject with multiple exit points.
Father Dominic Savio, the principal of the college, spoke about the plan that bears a resemblance to the National Education Policy (NEP), at the convocation held in the physical mode after a gap of two years.
The principal said the integrated programme will help the college, counted among the top four colleges in a national ranking exercise, draw more bright students.
“It is our dream to ensure that all the undergraduate departments become post graduate departments by 2025 and 2 years later is ready to offer doctoral degrees to provide students with a seamless academic transition with varying points of exit according to the students’ needs,” the principal said in his speech.
Institutes across the country are launching courses in keeping with the NEP that mandates that students must be allowed to exit a programme between degrees.
A teacher from the science faculty of IIT Kharagpur said the sweeping changes in the policy included replacing the three-year undergraduate course into a four-year one with multiple entry and exit points.
Father Dominic Savio told Metro: “We are working on the plan on our own. The seamless academic transition is expected to draw more bright students. This will also help us in offering more interdisciplinary studies.”
Vice-chancellor of a state university said, UGC has begun approaching the heads of colleges and universities across the country for the implementation of the policy that was approved by the Narendra Modi government in July 2020.
Father Dominic Savio said the college has begun foray into new territory by introducing an MSC course in data science from the academic session 2022-23.
“Such cutting-edge courses will give the college a vibrant contemporary feeling and this will certainly attract a new kind of student profile which, I am sure, will add a new demographic and talent base…..” the principal said in his speech.
Apart from the students of the main campus on Park Street, students from the campus in Raghabpur in South 24-Parganas, attended the ceremony.
“I am happy and proud to announce that our Raghabpur campus has successfully bridged the rural-urban divide and has brought about significant changes in the rural areas it serves….A centre of skill development is also being planned at the Raghabpur campus to impart technical skill to rural residents,” the principal said.
The campus was started in 2014.
There are parents who cannot afford the higher studies of their wards after Class XII because of the pandemic-induced financial constraints. Such students will be imparted technical skills in areas like pisciculture and carpentry, a college official said.