THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Starting next academic year, students who have completed ITI or polytechnic courses after Class X will no longer be required to pass the Higher Secondary (Plus Two) examination to secure admission to undergraduate degree programmes.
The Higher Education Department has revised the eligibility criteria, allowing ITI certificate holders to secure admission to the first year of the four-year undergraduate programme (FYUGP), while those with a three-year polytechnic diploma will be eligible for lateral entry into the second year.
However, ITI-qualified candidates must also pass the prescribed language course to become eligible for undergraduate admission. At present, polytechnic diploma holders are eligible for lateral entry into the second year of various BTech programmes.
The order was issued on the instructions of Higher Education Minister Roji M John who cleared a recommendation to this effect by the Kerala State Higher Education Council.
The recommendation was made with a view to ensuring the statutory alignment of university-level admission profiles with the explicit level descriptors mandated by the University Grants Commission’s National Credit Framework (NCrF).
As per the NCrF, a post Class 12 Two-Year polytechnic Diploma and a post Class X Three Year polytechnic Diploma are mapped to Level 4.5, establishing structural parity with the successful completion of the first year (first two semesters) of a standard Bachelor’s Degree.
Additionally, an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) qualification successfully completed after Class X, complemented by the prescribed statutory 12 credit language component, is recognised at NCrF Level 4.0, rendering holders eligible for admission to first year of FYUGP.
The Director of Technical Education has been instructed to formally communicate the revised eligibility criteria to all universities, autonomous institutions, and polytechnics within the state.