UGC’s go-ahead to varsities to admit students twice a year

New Delhi, June 11

In a policy shift, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has, beginning the next academic year, decided to allow Indian higher education institutions to admit students twice a year.

The two admission cycles will be July-August and January-February from the 2024-25 academic session, thereby providing opportunities to students who miss the initial cycle due to a delay in the announcement of board results, health issues or personal reasons.

Speaking with news agencies, UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar said, “In our country, we always start admissions for one cycle in July-August. But in the last commission meeting, we decided to allow all universities and colleges to conduct admissions twice.” Kumar said biennial admissions would greatly benefit students. “This will help students maintain motivation since they do not have to wait one full year to be admitted if they miss admission in the current cycle. With biannual admissions in place, industries can also do their campus recruitment twice a year, improving employment opportunities for the graduates,” he said.

The UGC Chairman said that biannual admissions would also enable the higher education institutes to plan their resource distribution.