Surat’s Veer Narmad South Gujarat University to discontinue distance-learning at UG level from next academic session

According to sources at VNSGU, in 2022-23, a total of 8,213 students took admission as external students in undergraduate courses, followed by 8,634 students in 2023-24, and 6,490 students in 2024-25. Apart from this, approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in postgraduate courses.

Though the university will not accept fresh admissions for external undergraduate courses from next year, students already enrolled will be allowed to complete their respective courses.

Talking to The Indian Express, the Vice Chancellor of VNSGU, Dr K N Chavda, said, “The decision was taken over the implementation of the New Education Policy (NEP)-2020 and its provisions. The decision was made after the proposal for discontinuing undergraduate courses was cleared by the Board of Deans, the Academic Council, the Executive Council, and the Board of Management.”

A professor with VNSGU, on condition of anonymity, said, “According to the provisions in NEP, external undergraduate students are required to complete a 120-hour internship in the third year of their course. They have to obtain a certificate from the employer, who will also assign them a grade out of 100. This way, the student can make a decision on the field they want to pursue in the future.”

The professor did not substantiate the connection between NEP and discontinuation of external courses.

However, a professor in a college in Surat city, on the condition of anonymity, said, “This decision is not acceptable. The university should keep in mind the needs and requirements of its students. Many of these students are housewives and working professionals. A number of students are enrolled in two parallel courses – one as an external student and another as a regular student. They opted for this arrangement with the hope of getting a certificate that could aid their promotion at work. The discontinuation of external courses will cause them major difficulty.”

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