‘’Design Your Degree’ program of Jammu University has message for those who want better standards of higher education

During 2012-2014 Delhi University (DU) had made many landmark experiments, in the true spirit of autonomy of universities - to experiment with innovative ideas. One of those ideas was Four Year Degree Program (FYUP) where students could decide on their own courses including skill courses while studying. This could lead to self-employment during and after completion of the degree program. The man behind this idea was Professor Dinesh Singh, the then Vice Chancellor of Delhi University and the implementer was Professor Umesh Rai the then Director South Campus, DU. Somehow this very innovative scheme was withdrawn in 2015.

Now Rai is the Vice-Chancellor of Jammu University (JU). Jammu University has launched a similar experiment by the name ‘Design Your Degree’(DYD), in line with the recommendations of theNational Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), which has recommended four year degree program as well and made it mandatory to do skill courses to qualify for the ‘multiple entry, multiple exit’ provision of the NEP 2020. Till the Eighteenth Century every individual contributed to the economy by doing some productive work. It was only after the invasions, in the last one thousand years, and the destruction of the Bhartiya education system that Bharat became a poor country. Since the Macaulay’s policy of education, of 1835, the educated became job seekers and not self-employed entrepreneurs.

The NEP 2020 for the first time reverses the trend and the DYD is a landmark initiative in that sense. The NEP 2020 is a vision (Darshan) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is the man behind this idea, the idea which will once again help Bharat regain the position of ViswaGuru. Globally undergraduate programs are of four year duration and in fact the Radhakrishnan Commission, had mentioned that even the United States has a four year degree program but our nation is not ready for it right now.

Finally the NEP 2020 also approved a four year degree program and universities are now in the process of implementing the four year degree program. Jammu University (JU) will be considered a frontrunner as it has gone a step further by giving the choice of selection of courses to the students. The essence of the recommendation of Design Your Degree (DYD) is to create job givers rather than job seekers. The JU, DYD is based on the philosophy that students must be allowed to choose courses of study on their own volition so that they can give their best into it, and finally make it their life-long passion and profession.

Students would be allowed to choose academic courses along with skill courses from across disciplines and departments. Teachers and students from different departments, disciplines and streams would work in collaboration to foster the creative ideas of each individual learner. The major criticism of our institutions has been that they work in silos and the findings of research in one department is not even shared with the department across the wall. Through DYD teachers and students will form groups of individuals with common interests and come up with very novel and innovative ideas.

As the program visualises the courses would not be only classroom based but students can work at any location with members of the society or even industry, with a view to find solutions to their problems. The university teachers instead of being just classroom teachers would do hand holding and become mentors. Once the DYD gets going true interdisciplinary practice would emerge. Students would be admitted under the DYD from 2023 academic year. Admission would be through a process keeping Senior Secondary Board result (10%), Entrance test (60%), Group activity (20%) and Personal Interview (10%) into consideration. The admission criteria clearly shows domain knowledge is not being tested for admission but attitude and aptitude for exploration is being tested for admission. During the program the group of students along with the mentor teacher will spend a semester on ground and work and find solutions to real life problems.

Some of the courses that the university has planned for Semesters I to IV are Discovering the Self, Exploring the Surroundings, Marvels of the World, Expressing Creativity, Life Skills, Art and Science of Communication, Understanding the World through Data, Decoding the World through Data, Digital Humanities etc.  From the courses it would be apparent the program will give opportunity to learners to explore and innovate unlike the content based courses presently prescribed in the universities.

The motto of the program is: ‘Teach to Transform’; ‘Educate to Empower’; and ‘Learn to Lead’. Autonomy to universities should not be seen as an undue favour. Institutions can experiment and innovate leading to new and great ideas only if they are provided autonomy.

(The writer is Professor of Education and a Trustee of the India Policy Foundation. Views expressed are personal)