New Delhi: The Union Government has included the IITs, IIMs, and other Institutions of National Importance (INIs) in the Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) system. This permits students to take up to 50% of a course at an institution other than their own.
Regulations to bring IITs and IIMs under academic bank of credit framework were passed last month, bringing INIs within its control and removing the ranking criterion for universities and colleges wishing to register with the credit bank framework.
The Ministry of Education has approved important amendments to the UGC (Establishment and Operation of ABC in Higher Education). This allows students to take up to 50% of a course from a different university than the one in which they are enrolled.
Students of IITs, IIMs to Benefit from ABC System
Students can earn credits, which are the equivalent of marks, with the bank serving as a central data repository for academic points obtained from universities under the ABC system. Every student can have a digital bank account.
Only universities and autonomous institutions with a Grade A accreditation score or those in the top 100 of the National Institutional Ranking Framework might be registered with the ABC, according to the original legislation, which was published in July 2021.
The December change, on the other hand, has made it feasible for any university or college, regardless of ranking, to be included in the ABC framework.
According to the rule, registered higher education institutions must encourage and facilitate students' ability to personalize or design their own degrees. A student must take at least 50 percent of his credits at the institution where he is enrolled.
The core papers are covered in this section of the course. A student can choose any other institution or a combination of institutions registered with the ABC framework for the other half — non-core or optional studies.
The entire elective component can be completed at a different institution, either online or offline, or a combination of the two. Prof. Nandita Narain, a professor at St. Stephen's College, questioned the University Grants Commission's (UGC) and government's commitment in guaranteeing quality higher education, given the significant online component.
As it would be difficult for a student to physically attend courses at another college, Narain pointed out that up to half of a course may be completed online, with open-book exams. Academically, this method is often regarded as less challenging.
Even before COVID, no institution in the world, according to Narain, offered such a huge online element in normal courses. She noted that the pandemic had caused education to move largely online, but that once Covid passed, traditional learning will return.
"Taking advantage of the pandemic's chance, the Indian government is attempting to make online classes a permanent fixture of higher education.This is something that no other country in the world is doing.When the online mode is mainstream, the quality of education would be the biggest loss," Narain predicted.
IISERs Yet to Decide on Accepting Academic Credits
"It's fine to use online courses to enhance regular teaching and learning. When it replaces traditional courses, however, it will not only dilute learning, but also limit opportunities for connection with peers, seniors, and faculty members, as well as the development of organ UGC authorities have undertaken one round of conversations with the INIs on the ABC inclusion”, according to the director of an IISER. He predicted that accepting credits from other institutions would be difficult.
"The IISERs have yet to decide whether or not to accept academic credits from other universities.There is a problem with the quality of this product. There is no problem with the IISER transferring credits to a credit bank on behalf of its own students. This will benefit students who drop out for a variety of reasons and then return after a period of time," he said.
"Aside from quality, the online learning approach will have a negative influence on university workload, Because there will no longer be a set workload, faculty requirements will fluctuate. "This will result in enormous displacement of existing professors and bargain collectively," Narain said, predicting widespread layoffs.
She was concerned that the number of ed-tech companies offering online education would increase. Students who are unable to receive adequate education in their universities will purchase online content from these corporations, and excessive commercialisation will push individuals from marginalized backgrounds out, according to Narain.
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