Students can now get 40% of university credits from e-courses

NEW DELHI: Come the 2021-22 academic session, students of 149 universities would be allowed to earn upto 40% of their required credits from among the over 800 online courses available on the Swayam platform. The academic bank of credit (ABC) would also become functional from the forthcoming academic session, which will be a repository of the credits earned by a student. Once the student fulfils the total credits required, he or she will be granted the degree.

The 149 universities include central universities like Jamia Millia Islamia, University of Allahabad and Mizoram University. State universities like National Law University, Delhi, University of Calcutta, University of Kerala and over 75 private and deemed universities have all approved the credit transfer from these online courses. Started last year, around 40 universities initially allowed credit transfers from Swayam courses. Over 100 other universities approved the credits to be earned from these online courses this year, according to sources in the University Grants Commission.



There are 846 online courses which will be offered by SWAYAM from the forthcoming semester. The courses are divided into seven categories – architecture and planning, engineering and technology, humanities and arts, law, management and commerce, mathematics and sciences and NPTEL domain (National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning – the online/ video courses offered by the IITs). Each category is further divided into small course modules from which a student can choose and register and learn online. The National Testing Agency conducts exams twice a year at the end of each semester. Speaking to the TOI, professor Raghavendra P Tiwari, vice chancellor, Central University of Punjab, said: “This would give the much needed flexibility to our students as envisaged in the National Education Policy 2020. Now an engineering student from Tezpur Central University can pick up a course or multiple online courses via SWAYAM or NPTEL, earn credits and complete his studies.

“So far a student used to get the experience of one university. This truly democratises education, as one of my students will be able to take up a course from SWAYAM or from another university, say University of Hyderabad. ”

Tiwari said this will boost the skill set among students as well “as a university may not offer a particular skill which another might have. This up to 40% credit transfer facility and the academic bank of credit which the government is likely to announce soon will greatly help the student to hone their skills as they move to the job market or for entrepreneurial initiatives.”