Higher Education Reforms: CBCS, Credits, Grading and NEP 2020

CBCS, introduced by UGC guidelines in 2015, gives students the freedom to choose courses from a prescribed list, to learn at their own pace, and to combine disciplines. It rests on three ideas: a semester structure, a credit for every course and a grade instead of marks. The course types are:

• Core courses: compulsory papers of the chosen discipline that form the foundation of the programme.

• Elective courses: chosen by the student; they are Discipline Specific Electives (DSE) (from the same discipline but giving specialisation), Generic Electives (GE) (chosen from other disciplines to broaden knowledge) and Project or Dissertation.

• Ability Enhancement Compulsory Courses (AECC): Environmental Science and English or Modern Indian Language communication.

• Skill Enhancement Courses (SEC): value-based or skill-based courses (for example, computer skills or soft skills).

Credit definition (UGC): 1 credit = 1 hour of lecture or tutorial per week per semester, or 2 hours of practical or laboratory work per week per semester. A semester is about 15 to 18 weeks (roughly 90 teaching days). The usual idea of CBCS is flexibility, interdisciplinarity, uniform standards across universities, easier mobility and a shift from rote learning toward continuous assessment. It does not mean that every student takes identical courses, and it does not eliminate internal assessment.

UGC’s ten-point scale is: O (Outstanding) = 10, A+ (Excellent) = 9, A (Very Good) = 8, B+ (Good) = 7, B (Above Average) = 6, C (Average) = 5, P (Pass) = 4, F (Fail) = 0, Ab (Absent) = 0.

SGPA (Semester Grade Point Average) = Σ(credit × grade point) ÷ Σ(credits) for one semester. CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) = Σ(credit × SGPA) ÷ Σ(credits) across all semesters. Worked example: Course 1 has 4 credits and grade A (8), Course 2 has 4 credits and grade B+ (7), Course 3 has 2 credits and grade O (10). Total credit points = (4 × 8) + (4 × 7) + (2 × 10) = 32 + 28 + 20 = 80. Total credits = 10. SGPA = 80 ÷ 10 = 8.0. The rule is to weight each grade by its credit, never to take a simple average of grade points. A student who fails a course can usually carry it forward and clear it later without repeating the whole semester.

Credit transfer means that credits earned at one institution (or through SWAYAM) are recognised by another, and it is what makes mobility possible. The Academic Bank of Credits (ABC), launched in 2021 under NEP 2020, is a digital repository in which a learner’s credits from recognised institutions are stored in an account, much like money in a bank, and can be redeemed toward a degree; credits stay valid for a period of seven years. It is not a financial bank, not a scholarship fund and not a database of question papers. Related are the National Credit Framework (NCrF) and the National Higher Education Qualifications Framework (NHEQF), which define levels and credit values across school, higher and vocational education.

• The 5+3+3+4 structure replaces the 10+2 structure in school education (Foundational, Preparatory, Middle, Secondary stages).

• Target: Gross Enrolment Ratio of 50 percent in higher education by 2035.

• Multidisciplinary higher education institutions; flexibility of subjects; no rigid separation of arts, science and commerce.

• Four-year undergraduate programme with multiple entry and exit: exit after 1 year gives a Certificate, 2 years a Diploma, 3 years a Bachelor’s degree, and the 4-year programme gives a Bachelor’s degree with Honours or with Research. Credits are stored in the ABC.

• A single regulator for higher education (HECI) is proposed, the National Research Foundation (NRF) is to fund research, and the National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts common entrance tests.

• Emphasis on mother tongue and multilingualism, outcome-based education, continuous formative assessment, vocational education from school, a four-year integrated B.Ed. as the minimum teacher-preparation qualification by 2030, and public spending of 6 percent of GDP on education. The Ministry of Human Resource Development was renamed the Ministry of Education.