New Education Policy rollout set to reshape Mumbai’s education landscape

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Mumbai's education landscape is set for significant change in the coming year. One of the biggest shifts will come with the roll out of the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

From 2026, autonomous colleges across the city will, for the first time, offer a fourth year in undergraduate programmes. Students enrolled in multidisciplinary colleges will have the option to exit arts, science and commerce courses after three years with a regular degree, or continue for a fourth year to earn an honours degree.

However, under NEP guidelines, only students with a cumulative grade point average of 7.5 or above will be eligible for the fourth year. The policy also allows lateral movement, enabling students to switch colleges to complete their honours degree.

For research aspirants, JJ School of Art, which has recently been granted de novo deemed-to-be university status, will begin offering PhD programmes in fine arts, architecture and design for the first time.

Another major change awaits students appearing for the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (CET). From next year, the entrance exam will be held twice annually for key streams such as engineering and management.

At the school level, the BMC will open nine new municipal school buildings across Malad, Ghatkopar, Andheri and Govandi. One of these will house a CBSE school at Kotiwada. In addition, the civic body has acquired three more school buildings in Malad under its amenities portfolio.

7.5
Grade point cut-off for the fourth year honours