Shillong, May 26: The Academic Council of the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) has finalised the syllabus for the fourth year of the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP).
In the absence of Vice-Chancellor, Prof PS Shukla, the emergency meeting was chaired by Pro Vice-Chancellor of Shillong Campus, Prof Sumarbin Umdor.
NEHUTA president Prof Lakhon Kma said, “If students want to continue into the fourth year the syllabus for seventh and eighth semester is ready for all departments.”
He also allayed concerns over rumours about a clause suggesting that students who enroll in the fourth year of the FYUP would forfeit their eligibility for a three-year bachelor’s degree if they fail to clear their final-year papers.
“Any student who has finished the three-year bachelor’s degree can come out with a Major and if they want to continue, they can do so and go to the fourth year. But in case if they don’t complete the fourth year it is their right to get the three-year degree,” Kma said.
Under the National Education Policy (NEP), students can earn various certifications: a certificate after one year, a diploma after two, and a degree after three years of study, Kma added.
These qualifications cannot be withdrawn simply because a student does not complete the fourth year.
Another topic which was discussed was the entry into the fourth-year won’t be automatic. Kma said that if any students score 75 per cent and above, they can take Honours with Research and if they score less than 75 percent, they can go for Fourth year FYUP Honours.
According to the NEHUTA president, those who complete the three-year degree there is another opportunity for them to do their two—year post graduate degree.
He said that all stakeholders should know that after the three-year degree course it depends on the students since the university is not yet ready with the one-year post-graduate programme.
“But since we are going on with the NEP we will go ahead but we don’t know if we can be ready by 2027 when the first batch of the FYUP complete their three-years,” Kma said.
Kma also blamed Vice-Chancellor Prof. P. S. Shukla for rushing the FYUP under the NEP. He said that in 2023, all concerned had opposed this when the Vice-Chancellor started the FYUP. “But since we cannot go back, what we can do is streamline what’s ahead of us,” the NEHUTA president stated.
Kma left it up to the parents and the students on whether they want to do the usual three-year undergraduate programme and two-year postgraduate programme or the four-year undergraduate programme with one-year postgraduate degree.
“But I reiterated that the one-year postgraduate degree, NEHU, is in the process of preparing but as we speak the university is not ready,” he stated.
Kma alleged that Prof. Shukla tried to obstruct the meeting but the Academic Council decided that it should be chaired by a Pro-Vice Chancellor as per statutory norms.
