The students pursuing regular degree courses such as for BA, B.Com, B.Sc will now be allowed to take up internships as a part of their course. The goal behind making internships as a mandatory part of courses is to make the students job-ready.
Now the students who are pursuing regular degree courses such as for BA, B.Com, B.Sc will be allowed to take up internships as a part of their course. The students pursuing equivalent professional courses such as management and engineering are already allowed to take up internships for practical exposure to the industry.
On 7th August 2020 “Conclave on Transformational Reforms in Higher Education under National Education Policy, 2020” which was held through video conferencing in which MHRD Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ virtually launched the UGC guidelines for Higher Education Institutions to offer Apprenticeship/Internship Embedded Degree Programme.
Under the ‘Apprenticeship/Internship Embedded Degree Programme’ the UGC has allowed the students pursuing courses in any discipline can take up internships as a part of their courses. These courses will be named as ‘Apprenticeship/Internship Embedded Degree Programme’.
Right now only students who are pursuing professional courses like that of engineering, management, journalism, etc. are asked to undergo internships. These internships are mandatory parts of their course. But the same opportunity isn’t there for students pursuing regular degrees like BA, B.Com, B.Sc.
Internships To Make Students Job-Ready Regular Degree
The New Education Policy (NEP) which was released on 29th July 2020 brought several reforms in the education sector. One of those changes was to provide quality education along with providing industry-relevant education to the students. The goal behind making internships as a mandatory part of courses is to make the students’ job-ready. India is expected to have the largest working population in the world by 2030.
While launching UGC guidelines Shri Pokhriyal said that to make the most out of this remarkable demographic dividend, it is necessary to improve the quality of education. Also, it is equally necessary to provide industry-relevant education for increasing the employability of youth. He said that this requires a new vision for education-driven dynamically by changing industry needs.
As per the University Grants Commission’s new guidelines, the colleges and universities are asked to give at least one semester for the internships. Also, they are being asked to evaluate the students based on their experience of the internship.
In the case of offering ‘Apprenticeship/Internship Embedded Degree Programme’ the UGC has asked the higher education institutions to award 20 percent of the total credits to the internships.
The UGC’s guidelines on ‘Apprenticeship/Internship Embedded Degree Programme’ highlighted “With a large number of students enrolled in general degree programmes in India every year, there is a consensus among stakeholders for a shift from ‘academic-only’ approach. The minimal linkage between the general degree curriculum and employer’s requirement calls for an effective remodelling of degree programmes, driven by changing needs of the industry and service sector”.
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