BHU reviews New Education Policy implementation; Maps next steps for students' choice, academic quality

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 7 (ANI): Banaras Hindu University held a review meeting on the implementation of the New Education Policy 2020 and discussed modalities for the next phase of application of the policy across the University.
The meeting, held on Monday, was chaired by Vice-Chancellor Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi, and attended by Directors of Institutes, Deans of Faculties, Principals of colleges, alongwith Prof Madhoolika Agrawal, Chairperson, Prof. B.P. Mandal, Convener, Dr Ashutosh Mohan, Co-convener and members of the NEP Implementation Cell.
The discussion looked at the First Year UG Programme (FYUGP) rollout, which includes the 4-year UG (Honours) and UG (Honours with Research) framework. It also discussed student routes, credit architecture, and academic support systems.
Some of the key points on which deliberations took place were: Major-Minor combinations & flexibility: Making it easier for students in the same department to combine classes, looking into options for students in different departments, and putting into action the new rule that allows students to switch majors or minors after their first year in certain departments. It was thought about whether it would be possible to add a second Minor after Semester 3 while still protecting the vocational parts.

Internship modality (UG): Affirmed the 2-credit, Pass/Fail internships after Year 1 and Year 2, with deeper ties to businesses, government agencies, and community partners for hands-on learning.
Multidisciplinary (MD) & Value-Added Courses (VAC): Making the MD course allocation process more efficient, redesigning the MD offerings at the real entry level, adding more subjects to the VAC basket besides Ayurveda, Yoga, and Environmental Studies, and making the conduct and assessment processes better.
AEC/SEC/Vocational courses: Addressing delivery at scale (e.g., English under AEC), restoring appropriate practical inputs in SEC/Minor (Vocational), and standardising paper formats and evaluation.
SWAYAM credit & examinations: Encouraging students to attend online courses by giving them 40% credit for each category (up to 60% for "Others") and developing modalities within the university to conduct exams for adopted SWAYAM courses of its own students, in line with UGC rules, to give students more options and balance faculty load.
Credit pacing & PG roadmap: Reiterating credit flexibility of 18-22 credits/semester (minimum 160 over eight semesters) and charting the postgraduate NEP roadmap for phased adoption.
Entry-Exit & Lateral Entry: Continuing the no-lateral-entry stance for now; discussing a conditional framework (seat availability, NIRF/CUET benchmarks, merit & reservation) for future consideration, and reaffirming exit with certification/diploma/degree.
The University reiterated its commitment to student choice, academic rigour, and seamless processes, in line with the spirit of NEP-2020. (ANI)