Thiruvananthapuram: Applications will be invited after May 20 for admissions to the new four-year graduate programmes announced by the Kerala Government, said the state’s Higher Education Minister R Bindu. Sharing details of the new initiative being introduced this year, the minister said that classes will begin on July 1.

“The trial and final rank lists will be published by June 15 and admissions will start before June 20,” she added.

The main attraction of the four programmes is that students would be able to design their course according to the latest academic-career trends, Bindu said. Citing an example, she said that while an existing graduate course makes it compulsory for a student to study Physics and Mathematics along with Chemistry, the new four-year programme allows the student to choose combinations such as Chemistry-Physics-Electronics or Chemistry-Literature-Music or exclusively Chemistry. “Academic counsellors will be appointed in colleges to help the students choose the subjects of their interest,” said Bindu.

Students will earn a regular degree after three years and an honours degree after four years. “Moreover, academically bright students will also be able earn their degree after two-and-and-a-half years under the N-Minus-One system,” said the minister.

The new programmes will also enable inter-university transfer. Yet another advantage is the facility for students to pursue online courses along with the regular programme and utilize the credit earned to complete their regular/honours degrees.

At the same time, Bindu pointed out that each university will conduct a particular course in a different manner. “A course will be designed by the student and teachers after elaborate discussions. Help desks too will be arranged in colleges and universities to address grievances and for doubt-clearance,” she said.

“Most of these facilities will be provided online. In addition, short-term job-oriented courses will be introduced to help students acquire the necessary skills to bridge the industry-academic gap,” said Bindu.