UGC proposes credit transfer system: Quality of program should also be indicated

Officials of the University Grants Commission (UGC) have kicked and screamed that the UGC cannot be shut down like a factory so that one body to regulate higher education can be set up. However, the UGC is waking up to the fact that the grades offered at various Indian universities need to be assessed and some kind of uniformity should be established across these grades. A system by which credits can be easily transferred across institutes is on the cards and this will definitely help students when they want to apply for further studies in India or abroad.

This is a small step which may help bring some standards to education in India. Such a system will also help students to not have any confusion about which institutes they can apply to after completing their course. Institutes should also be told to clearly disclose the credits given to various courses so that students know from the beginning what they are getting into. Sometimes students are confused about the value of degrees offered by institutes and prospects after graduating from a particular institute.

An official credit transfer system is definitely a welcome move but India’s universities urgently require opening up of the various disciplines which are offered at universities. As suggested in the Yash Pal report, students should be allowed to opt for courses from various disciplines offered at a university. I think that it is a waste of resources if a university offers disciplines such as engineering, medicine, management, sociology etc and does not allow a student of say engineering to take any subjects from the other disciplines. Studying subjects from various disciplines will help students to get a wider perspective of things and learn in a holistic manner.

It will be interesting to see how the credit transfer system is designed and how courses at institutes are evaluated. I hope that it does not prove to be simply an academic exercise which does not provide any insights into the quality of the program offered. Courses should be rigorously examined and the system should ensure that the credit system provides a lot more transparency about the offered course.