Draft NEP opens lateral entry for UG dropouts, may land them jobs

BENGALURU: Its Hindi imposition clause may have triggered outrage, but sections of the draft national education policy (NEP) offer students an opportunity to complete their degrees even if they drop out of undergraduate (UG) courses due to unforeseen circumstances, and may also help increase their employability.

With an effort to usher in a more systematic change in higher education, NEP will provide threelevel lateral entry to students. After the first year of the course, a student will receive a certificate of completion, after the second year, a diploma certificate and on completing the third year, a degree certificate. On completion of the fourth year, an honours degree certificate will be accorded to the student.

According to NEP draft committee members, the main reason behind the three-year entry and exit routes for students is to ensure the system provides them a fair opportunity to complete their education. Education expert and a senior member of the committee, Prof MK Sridhar, told TOI the pros and cons of multiple entry and exit routes were deliberated before the option was provided.


“Our current education system is unfair to students. Even on appearing for the final degree exam, if the student has failed in a single subject, he or she gets nothing. As a result, we decided to provide multiple routes of entry and exit, wherein the student can always come back with a certificate or diploma in hand to appear for a degree or honours certificate,” said Sridhar.