Bihar Gazette, 16 October 2025

REGISTERED NO. PT.-40 EXTRA ORDINARY

PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY 24 ASHWIN1947(S)

(NO.PATNA 1677) PATNA, THURSDAY, 16TH OCTOBER 2025 Letter No.-NOU(Regulations)-07/2025-1931 /GS(I), GOVERNOR'S SECRETARIAT BIHAR ———

From,

Kalpana Srivastava, Officer on Special Duty (Judicial)

To,

The Vice-Chancellor Nalanda Open University, Badgaon, Nalanda-803111.

Dated 14-10-2025 Subject:- Regarding approval of Ordinance / Regulations for Admission to 04 Year Bachelor of Arts/ Science / Commerce (Honours) Programmes under Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) based on University Grants Commission (Open and Distance Learning Programmes and Online Programmes) Regulations, 2020.

Sir,

I am directed to invite a reference to the letter No.- BSHEC/O&R/NOU /Adm. to 04 yrs Hons./27/2025-462, dated-18.07.2025 received from the Member Secretary-cum-State Project Director, Bihar State Higher Education Council, Bihar, Patna on the subject mentioned above and to inform that the Hon'ble Chancellor after due consideration of the recommendation made by the Member Secretary-cum-State Project Director, Bihar State Higher Education Council, Bihar, Patna and the opinion of the University Advisory Committee and in exercise of the powers conferred on him under Sections-31(3) and 32(2)(ii) of the Nalanda Open University Act, 1995 has been pleased to assent the Ordinance/Regulations for Admission to 04 Year Bachelor of Arts/2 BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 16TH OCTOBER 2025 Science/Commerce (Honours) Programmes under Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) based on University Grants Commission (Open and Distance Learning Programmes and Online Programmes) Regulations, 2020 on 01.10.2025 and to start ODL Course for which University Grants Commission has given permission vide letter no.-4-1/2025(DEB-NER), dated-12.08.2025.

Yours faithfully

Encl:- As above. Kalpana Srivastava,

Officer-On-Special Duty(Judl.)3 BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 16TH OCTOBER 2025 NALANDA OPEN UNIVERSITY ——— DRAFT ORDINANCE & REGULATIONS FOR THE 04 YEARS BACHELOR OF ARTS/SCIENCE/COMMERCE (HONOURS) PROGRAMMES UNDER CHOICE BASED CREDIT SYSTEM (CBCS) AS PER UGC (OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMMES AND ONLINE PROGRAMMES) REGULATION, 2020 (CURRICULUM AND CREDIT FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMMES)

Preamble.—Nalanda Open University (NOU), located in the historic district of Nalanda, Bihar, is a premier institution dedicated to providing high-quality Open and Distance Education. Established in 1987 with the vision of making higher education accessible to all sections of society, NOU offers a diverse range of undergraduate, postgraduate, diploma, and certificate programs. The university follows a flexible learning approach, allowing students to pursue education without barriers of age, location, or time constraints. Nalanda Open University (NOU), Nalanda, in alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, introduces a Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUGP) under the Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS). This University is committed to aligning its policies, ordinances, and regulations with the University Grant Commission (UGC) guidelines for Open and Distance Learning and online Programmes.

The key objectives of this ordinance are as follows:

i. To implement a structured and flexible undergraduate education framework aligned with the UGC Curriculum and Credit Framework (2022) and National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

ii. To facilitate a multidisciplinary, holistic learning environment with multiple entry and exit options.

iii. To enable credit mobility and transfer through integration with the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) and MOOCs (SWAYAM platform).

iv. To enhance employability by introducing research, internships, and skill-based learning in the final year.

Ordinance for Admission

1. The undergraduate programmes shall be undertaken in eight Semesters spread over four years.

2. It came into effect from the Academic Session 2023-2024. However, it is proposed to be implemented at Nalanda Open University from the Academic Session July 2025-2026.

3. The eligibility criteria for admission in Bachelor's programmes are listed in Table 1. Table 1: Eligibility criteria for admission in Bachelor programme

4. From the forthcoming academic session July 2025-2026 onwards, admission shall be made on the basis of marks obtained at 10+2 level.

5. The candidate seeking admission shall have to apply online on the University web portal/SAMARTH portal after paying the requisite fee mentioned in the advertisement notice published by the University. The candidate shall have to upload the documents supporting his/her claim mentioned in the application form.

Note: No applicant shall be admitted to the programme who has not applied for admission within the notified period.

6. Fee structure: The breakup of fees per semester is given in Table 2.

Table 2

(Science, Geography, Psychology, Home Science, Music etc.)

• Project fee of Rs. 500/- will be paid by the students at the time of filling Examination Form.

• Internship fee of Rs. 500/- will be paid by the students at the time of filling Examination Form.

• Every student has to be registered after getting admission in any programme by paying Rs. 600/- which will be called the University Registration Fee (one time). • Examination Fees will be Rs. 200/- (Two hundred rupees) in each paper which will be paid by the students at the time of filling of Examination Form.

• The fee structure shall be reviewed and revised after every four years with the approval of the competent authority.

• Fee for UG Certificate/UG Diploma will be rupees Rs. 500/- (Five hundred) each on exit.

• UG Degrees/UG Degrees Honours with research will be rupees Rs. 2000/- (Two thousand).

7. The admission of a candidate shall stand cancelled, and the fee deposited by the candidate will also be forfeited, in case any document submitted by a candidate at the time of admission to this programme is/are found to be fake.

8. Any candidate can be denied admission, or his/her name will be struck off from the roll of the University if it is required in the best interest of the University.

9. The candidates shall not be allowed to register for any other degree programme in the same University or any other University during the same academic session of his/her study in the Bachelor or any other equivalent programme.

10. Any student who attended all courses/papers in a Semester for the End Semester Examination (ESE) but fails in the ESE shall have to appear in the subsequent forthcoming examination of a particular semester by paying the requisite examination fee.

11. A student with less than 75% attendance in any course or paper that includes practical classes will be required to repeat the specific course or paper in the next scheduled examination, subject to the payment of the proportionate semester fee as determined by the University.

12. Every enrolled student will RE-REGISTER themselves before the start of next semester/year paying the requisite fee and it will be called semester/yearly registration.

13. Minor changes in the Ordinance and Regulation may be made by the Academic Council if required in the interest of academics.

14. The general ordinance of the University shall cover any aspect not covered in the present ordinance.

1.1. The "Regulation of Examination" for the 04-Year UG programme of Nalanda Open University, Nalanda under the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) Curriculum.

1.2. It shall come into force from the proposed Academic Session July 2025-2026. 1.3. The B.A. (Hons)/B.Sc. (Hons)/B.Com. (Hons) programmes shall come under the respective Schools of the University.

2 OUTLINE OF THE CHOICE-BASED CREDIT SYSTEM (CBCS).—It shall consists of following courses, Major Course (MJC)/Core Course, Minor Course (MIC), Multidisciplinary Course (MDC), Skill Enhancement Course (SEC), Value Added Course (VAC), Ability Enhancement Course (Course on Disaster Risk Management) (AEC), Internship (INT), Research Project (RP)/Dissertation.

The nature of these courses is as defined below: Major Course (MJC)/Core Course.—Major Courses (MJCs) are designed to impart students with the core concepts, principles and processes, and laboratory as well as instrumental skills in the main branches. MJCs are a mandatory requirement for a student's program of study who wish to pursue an undergraduate degree. MJCs will be appropriately graded and arranged across the semesters of study, being undertaken by the student, with multiple entry and exit options as per UGC Curriculum.

Minor Course (MIC).—The growth of specific subjects in the past few decades has been tremendous and many new sub-disciplines have emerged. It is important that apart from the main branches of the subject, a study of these new branches is also included in the curriculum. The Minor Course (MIC) incorporates important emerging areas and a pool of credit courses from their own faculty are included out of which a student will choose to study, based on his/her interest from their own faculty.

Multidisciplinary Course (MDC) .—Multi-Disciplinary Courses are a pool of courses offered by various disciplines of study which is meant to provide multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary education to students. Students may opt for' any three Multidisciplinary course out of a list of Multidisciplinary papers (Basket) offered by the parent department or any other department/s as per his/her choice with the prior permission of the parent department. The list of Multidisciplinary papers, syllabus and prerequisite of the Multidisciplinary courses will be as decided by the Board of Studies (BOS) of the concerned subject /department /Academic Council.

Skill Enhancement Course (SEC).—SEC are skill-based courses in all disciplines and are aimed at providing hands-on training, competencies, proficiency and skills to students. SEC courses may be chosen from a pool of courses designed to provide skill-based instruction.

Value-Added Course (VAC).—This is a pool of courses offered by all the Departments in groups of odd and even semesters out of which a student can choose. VAC courses are the common pool of courses offered by different disciplines and aimed towards personality building, embedding ethical, cultural & constitutional values; promoting critical thinking, Indian Knowledge Systems, scientific temperament, communication skills, creative writing, presentation skills, sports & physical education and teamwork which will help in the all-round development of students.

Ability Enhancement Course (AEC).—AEC courses are courses based upon the content that leads to knowledge enhancement through various areas of study. They may be Language and Literature, Environmental Science, and Sustainable Development, which are mandatory for all disciplines.

Internship (INT).—an internship is a part of the curriculum to gain practical exposure and industry experience. The internship, which may be conducted in academic institutions, industries, research organizations, NGOs, or government sectors, will be designed to enhance professional skills and employability. The duration, credit allocation, and assessment criteria shall be as per UGC guidelines and university regulations.

Research Project/ Dissertation (RP).—In the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUGP), students opting for Honours with Research must complete a Research Project/Dissertation in their eighth semester under faculty supervision. They will first study Research Methodology in the seventh semester to prepare. The dissertation, carrying 12 credits, is evaluated through a written report, viva-voce, and faculty assessment. This component enhances research skills, critical thinking, and practical application of knowledge, preparing students for higher studies and professional careers.

3. Program of Study/Course Structure:

3.1. Students shall undergo a certified programme of study extending up to eight semesters spread over four academic years.

3.2. Each academic year shall consist of two semesters: Odd semesters (I, II, V, VII) from July to December, Even semesters (II, IV, VI, VIII) from January to June.

3.3. The Bachelor programme will consist of a number of courses as per Annexure-I, spanning over eight semesters.

3.4. For running minor courses in a particular semester, the Academic Council of the University may take the decision if required keeping the viability at the local level.

• Exit option to students with U.G. Certificate. After completing I & Il Semester, earning full credits, students will be awarded a UG Certificate, only, if he or she takes one Vocational Course of 4 Credits. This Course will not be included in the SGPA & CGPA Calculation.

• Exit option to students with U.G. Diploma. After completing I, II, III, & IV semesters, earning full credits, if a student wants to exit, he/she will be awarded UG Diploma only if he or she takes one Vocational Course of 4 credits. This Course will not be included in the SGPA & CGPA Calculation.

• Exit option: A student may be awarded 3 Year UG in the Major & Minor discipline, provided he/she earns all credits of I, II, III, IV, V & VI Semester.

P=Project

• A student will be awarded Degree in UG Honours Major and Minor if he/she earns all the credits of I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII & VIII Semester.

• Students who want UG Degree Honours with Research in Major he/she must obtain 7.5 CGPA and above in the I to VI Semester. Such Students can choose a research stream in the fourth year if they earn (80 Credits, including 12 credits from a research project/dissertation. They will be awarded UG Degree (Honours with Research).

Award of Bachelor Degree with Honours, B.A./B.Sc./B.Com (Hons.): Total credits 160.

• Subject/Courses having 4, 6 & 12 credits may be split into Theory, Practical, and Project wherever required with the following credits.

a. For 4 Credit Course/Subject — CP – L – P

i. Theory — 4 - 0 - 0, 3 Credit, 100 Marks ii. Practical — 5 - 1 - 0, 1 Credit, 100 Marks

b. For 6 Credit Course/Subject — CP – L – P

i. Theory — 6 - 0 - 0, 4 Credit, 100 Marks ii. Practical — 10- 1 - 0, 2 Credit, 100 Marks

c. For 12 Credit Course/Subject (Project/Dissertation)—

CP – L – P i. Project — 6 - 0 - 0, 12 Credit, 100 Marks

*Abbreviation: CP= Contact Programme, L= Lab, P= Project Type of the Course Name of Course Credit MJC: Major Course 80 MIC: Minor Course 32 MDC: Multidisciplinary Course 06 AEC: Ability Enhancement Course 08 SEC: Skill Enhancement Course 16 VAC: Value Added Course 06 RP: Research Project/Dissertation 12 Total 160

3.5. To maintain uniform academic accountability, certain weightage is assigned in the form of "Credit", separately for each course per semester depending upon the length of the Curriculum. A minimum of 30 hours of study, including self-study, contact programme, assignment, and semester end examinations, has been fixed for each credit.

3.6. The Bachelor programme shall have 160 credits altogether. The CGPA shall be awarded on the candidate's performance in all papers/courses.

3.7. The syllabus of the programmes may be revised as per the demand of different stakeholders by the Academic Council as per the University norms.

4. UG Courses offered by SWAYAM/MOOC related to MDC and Skill enhancement, not studied as core course/paper may be selected by the candidate with the approval of the Department. The selected SWAYAM/MOOC courses must have equivalent credits to MDC and SEC. Students undertaking UG course of equivalent credits from SWAYAM/MOOC shall be eligible for credit transfer if he/she get a certificate of successful completion from SWAYAM.

5. Evaluation of Performance Under C.B.C.S.

5.1. Any student admitted to the Bachelor programme and registered in the University shall be eligible to appear in the University Examination for each Semester only after completing the prescribed period and 75% attendance in practical sessions separately and also submitter all Assignments of each theory course.

5.2. The University Examination of each course in all semesters shall have two components: i. Assignment of MJC, MIC, MDC, AEC, VAC & SEC containing 100 marks (weightage 30%).

ii. End Semester Examination (ESE) of MJC, MIC, MDC, AEC, VAC & SEC containing 100 marks (weightage 70%).

5.3. The Assignment component of the Examination shall be prepared by the schools under the concerned teachers of the course/paper. The evaluation of the submitted assignment responses will be evaluated by the nominated evaluators of the University. After evaluation, the assignment award sheet will be submitted to the Centralized Evaluation Cell of NOU for further necessary action.

5.4. End Semester Examination (ESE) shall be conducted by the University. For the theory courses/papers of 4 credits or more, there shall be a written examination of 3 hours duration. However, the ESE of Practical and Project Dissertation viva- voce shall be conducted in the respective departments.

5.5. The evaluation of the Project/Dissertation will be based on approval of Synopsis and End Semester Examination (Evaluation of Project and Viva-voce).

5.6. Internship: The students will be allowed/get the permission letter from the competent authority of NOU and subject to acceptance of the organization where he/she wish to complete his/her 15-30 days (as per the SOP of concerned/related programme. Evaluation of Internship will be based on evaluation of Internship Report and Viva-voce.

5.7. All such examinations shall be as per the provisions of the Examinations Board/ Division.

6. Examinations

6.1. The End-semester-Examinations will be conducted by the University semester wise.

6.2. The candidate's performance in the examination for the Bachelor programmes shall be evaluated following the Uniform Grading System (Credits) formulated11 BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 16TH OCTOBER 2025 on the guidelines of UGC for the computation of Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA).

6.3. The examination of odd semester I, III, V and VII shall generally be held in month of November-December and that of even semesters II, IV, VI and VIII in the month of May-June.

6.4. Question Paper Setting and Evaluation: For ESE, the question paper setting and evaluation will be done by the teachers of the concerned subject from within and other Universities.

7. Passing of Examinations and Promotional Rules:

7.1. There shall be no supplementary examination in any of the courses/papers in any semester.

7.2. The candidates who have been admitted to the First Semester of a four-year Undergraduate Programme in a session can be placed in the following categories based on their performance in the Semester.

i. Those who have submitted the Assignment for evaluation and attended the required minimum percentage (75%) of attendance for the practical components (required only for those programmes having Practical components) shall appear in the ESE.

ii. Those who have not submitted Assignment shall in no case be permitted to appear in the End Semester Examination.

7.3. After appearing at the End Semester Examination, the candidates can be placed in the following categories in the context of the declaration of the Semester Examination results.

i. To be declared passed in End Semester Examination; a candidate must secure at least 'P' grade as mentioned in Table-4 in each course/paper (including Assignment, Practical, Project and ESE separately).

ii. A candidate may be promoted to the next semester based on the following criteria as given in Table-3.

Note: To provide flexibility in ODL mode of education only re-registration is required to promote from one semester to another for completing the programme successfully within the stipulated time period (seven years) as per the guidelines of UGC. 8. Candidates shall have to clear their backlog course/paper(s) in the "subsequent end- semester examination of that semester whenever it is available or within a maximum period of 7 years.

i. The Final result will be published only after he/she has cleared all 160 credits in four prescribed academic years and three more academic years can be given to clear all the backlogs of 160 credits.

ii. Since it is a continuous evaluation programme, a student shall be awarded Semester Grade Points (SGPA) at the end of the first-semester Examination, and in the subsequent semesters till the fifth/seventh semester, and finally, in the sixth/eighth Semester the result will be awarded based on CGPA.

iii. No grade points will be awarded if there is any backlog present.

clears all the backlogs.

v. A promoted candidate, he/she fails in ESE, shall retain his/her ASIGNMENT score and will reappear in the ESE only of the semester whenever available and vice-versa in the case of assignment.

vi. Students undertaking any UG course from SWAYAM/MOOC as SEC or MDC shall be eligible for credit transfer if he/she gets a certificate for successful completion from SWAYAM/MOOC.

vii. The candidate must clear the programme within a maximum period of seven years. Academic Council may give one additional year of relaxation in case of exceptional circumstances.

9. Declaration of Result.—The Examination Department shall use the following grading system: Result in the form of grade points consequent upon evaluation will be awarded in the following two manners-

I. At the end of each semester, which will be titled as Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA).

II. At the end of the programme, which will be titled Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). The explanations for publishing results in the form of Grade points are given in Table 5.

The grading system stated below shall be used at the time of preparation of the result of the candidates who appeared at the examination.

Table 4

Grading System

There shall be a Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA) for each semester based on the Grade obtained in that Semester. The SGPA for every Semester is calculated as:

n – number of courses in a said semester. mj – the numerical value of grade obtained in the said semester. Oi – number of credits for the said semester. The calculations of SGPA and CGPA are illustrated below as a reset

offered in each semester, the SGPA/CGPA and the promotion status.

• The student shall have to obtain a minimum CGPA = 4.5 for the award of Bachelor's Degree.

• If a candidate got CGPA less than 4.5 but earned the required credits and passed in all papers/courses, then 0.5 will be added in actual CGPA obtained but total CGPA should not exceed 4.5.

• If a student fails in any semester, a grace of a maximum 05 Marks in split manner may be provided to make clear the subjects / Course in which the student is fail. The following formula shall be used to find the percentage equivalent to CGPA;

% of marks = (CGPA)x10 Academic Calendar for Programmes under Semester System

Officer-On-Special Duty(Judl.)15 BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 16TH OCTOBER 2025 ANNEXURE-I

Kalpana Srivastava,

Officer-On-Special Duty(Judl.)18 BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 16TH OCTOBER 2025 Credit System Defining Credit in ODL.—The University follows the 'Credit System' for most of its programmes. Each credit in our system is equivalent to 30 hours of learner study comprising all learning activities (i.e., reading and comprehending the print material, listening to audio, watching video, attending counselling sessions, teleconference and writing assignment responses). Thus, a 4-credit course involves 120 hours of study and a 6-credit course involves 180 hours of study. This helps the learner to know the academic effort he/she has to put in, to successfully complete a course. Completion of an academic programme (Degree or Diploma) requires successful completion of the assignments, practical, projects and the Term-End Examination as per requirement of each course in a programme.

Kalpana Srivastava,

Officer-On-Special Duty(Judl.)

——— PUBLISHED AND PRINTED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT, BIHAR SECRETARIAT PRESS, PATNA, BIHAR GAZETTE (EXTRA) 1677-571+10 Website:https://egazette.bihar.gov.in