The University Grants Commission, the highest apex body governing higher education in India, made one of the very progressive announcements regarding biannual intake. Generally, the academic year starts in June and ends in April/May. With this announcement, colleges and universities can admit students even in January/February. This is primarily in line with the practices of top international universities.
This revolutionary step brought in by the New Education Policy will be beneficial to students, especially those whose results get delayed and, therefore, many times, they cannot be admitted in the June session and have to wait till the following June session. Now, they will have an opportunity to also be admitted to the January or February session. Secondly, this step will be beneficial for foreign collaborations because some of the semesters may match with the semesters of many international universities. Therefore, it will be easy to implement twining programs, dual degrees, joint degrees, and semester abroad programs. Alongside these, it will also be beneficial for students who want to change their discipline. For example, a student who is admitted in Science in June and decides not to pursue it further, then instead of wasting a year and having to wait till the following June session, can change to another discipline in the January intake by taking a fresh admission.
On the other hand, this will be beneficial for higher education institutions as well, and there will be optimal utilization of infrastructure and resources, especially in April & May, when infrastructure lies vacant because of vacations after the examinations. The cherry on the cake is that institutions that want to start fresh programs can do so in January instead of having to wait for the following June session to do so. It will also help the corporate sector to come for campus placements twice in a year, as they will get two cohorts of students in a year, from good higher education institutions. As of now, the companies come to the campuses in December, but now they can come even in the middle of the year.
Another aspect that stands out is the fact that foreign students who come to India sometimes lose out on a year because examinations are held later in their countries, and their academic year ends in July. They have to wait until June next year to take admission in Indian Universities. Now, with the biannual intake system, we may even see an increase in the number of international students who can come in January.
While students get to choose, the biannual intake system also brings relief for the parents. They do not have to rush into seeking admission right after the completion of the Board Exams but can help their children in making well-informed decisions. They don’t need to fret that an entire year will be wasted but will have the option to take a breather for six months.
The NEP 2020 has given a boost to the Indian higher education system, transforming it into a globally accepted system. The focus has been on multiple aspects, such as internationalization, resource building, quality higher education and a focus on Indian value systems with global education. This step of biannual intake is a revolutionary step as a part of the implementation of the NEP 2020.