New Delhi, September 22: The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Tuesday released the guidelines for its Academic Calendar 2020-21 for the first year of under-graduate and post-graduate students. As per the new UGC guidelines, the universities across the country should commence the delayed academic sessions for the new academic session from November 1, 2020. According to the University Grants Commission, the winter break this year, the summer vacation in 2021 and other several holidays would be curtailed to compensate for the time lost. Take a Look at New UGC Guidelines.

Under the UGC Academic Calendar 2020-21, the admission process for first year students needs to be completed by October 31 and classes for the first semester should commence by November 1. The UGC has asked colleges to teach six days a week and shorten the winter break this year and the summer break next year. The UGC had in April 2020 had released an alternative academic calendar for colleges to reopen, with guidelines on exams, mode of study and the schedule.

Here's the tweet:

UGC Academic Calendar 2020-21: Key Points

  1. The delayed academic session for freshers’ in universities and colleges will begin from November 1, 2020

  2. The winter break in 2020, the summer vacation in 2021 and other holidays would be curtailed to compensate for the time lost during the COVID-19 pandemic

  3. As per the revised calendar, the admission process for first year students needs to be completed by October 31 and classes for the first semester should commence by November 1.

  4. In order to compensate for the loss of academic time, the UGC has asked colleges to teach six days a week and shorten the winter break this year and the summer break next year.

  5. The universities are requested to compensate the delay in the start of academic session in the subsequent years by curtailing the breaks/vacations so that this batch of students would get their final results for award of degree timely

  6. All the universities may follow a 6-day week pattern for the academic session 2020-21 and 2021-2022 to compensate the loss for this batch of students.

On Tuesday, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal tweeted the UGC Academic Calendar 2020-21 saying that in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission has accepted the Report of the Committee and approved the UGC Guidelines on Academic Calendar for the First Year of Under-Graduate and Post-Graduate Students of the Universities for the Session 2020-21.

In India, universities and schools across have been shut since March 16 when the government announced a nationwide shutdown as part of measures to contain the spread coronavirus.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 22, 2020 05:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).