VIJAYAWADA: The state government, as per the direction of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and University Grant Commission (UGC), has issued orders reducing the period of Master of Computer Application (MCA) course to two years from this academic year.
So far, the course was of three years’ duration.
The decision to decrease one year of the course duration was taken during the last UGC meeting held in December 2019. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the directions for implementation of the same from the coming academic year were communicated to all the states only recently.
“The UGC has taken the decision after several representations from students. The students had stated that many of the topics taught in the first year of the three-year programmes were already there in the graduation programme. So not to waste students’ time, the UGC has reduced the duration of three-year MCA programme to two years, which is expected to be followed by all the States,” explained Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) chairperson Hemachandra Reddy.
The government order stated that BSc/BA/B Com with Mathematics background students shall pass the prerequisite courses designed by the concerned universities for joining the MCA course.
“The vice-chancellors of all state universities are requested to design the two-year MCA course curriculum, prerequisite courses for general BSc/BA/BCom students with Mathematics background students and mode of conducting prerequisite courses as per norms of the AICTE,” the order read.