Students with second thoughts allowed to change 'core subjects' in NEP: Karmalkar

Mumbai: As Maharashtra is ready to implement the new National Education Policy (NEP) in the upcoming academic year 2023-24, officials from NEP steering committe confirm that students will be able to change their majors or core subject at the end of the first two semesters.

The government resolution on the policy clarifies that starting the academic year 2023-2024, students must select a major/ core subject in the first semester of their college, as The Free Press Journal previously reported on April 21, 2023.

Students, however, will be given a single chance to change their mind about the subject they want to major in, explained Prof Nitin Karmalkar, former Vice-Chancellor of Savitribai Phule Pune University who also chaired the NEP Steering Committee in Maharashtra.

“At the end of the first year, students will be given a chance to switch their major or core subject. They can either major in the subject they had previously selected as a ‘minor’ or choose a different subject altogether. In case of the latter, students must undergo a bridging course to catch up on what they missed out,” said Karmalkar while talking to The FPJ.

Students can complete their one year master's if they opt for same core as that of their undergraduate course. However, if they want to change the core, they'll have to pursue a two year master's programme., Karmalkar explained.

This comes as a relief to several college teachers and principals, who were worried about whether students would be able to narrow down on a core subject in the first year itself. These details, however, have still not been officially published in the NEP implementation report released by the committee, on April 21, 2023.

From the new academic year, students are to attain a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 22 credits each semester to pass the course. The major or core course accounts for at least 50% of total credits earned in the three or four-year undergraduate (UG) programmes. Previously, the autonomous colleges in Mumbai would offer course combinations to B.A., B.Com, and B.Sc students for the first two years. Previously, the MEANS students were required to pick a major only in the third year - the last year of college.

Maharashtra’s autonomous colleges and universities have been instructed to adopt the policy, establish a NEP implementation cell, and submit a progress report on NEP implementation to the state government by Sunday, April 30. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has also formed a Problem-Solving Committee to solve the issues that arise during the implementation of NEP 2020.