Explained: Here’s how SWAYAM 2.0 will let you earn an online degree

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has announced that SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds) 2.0, a new version of the online education platform, will offer e-degrees.

SWAYAM, which was launched in July 2017 to enable anytime, anywhere learning, only offered certification programmes till now. As a new version of this platform, MHRD said that SWAYAM will offer online degrees through top-ranking universities.

For students, this could offer a good opportunity to get an educational degree without having to be physically present at a campus. Fee structures for this could be decided in the near future by the degree providers.

What is SWAYAM?

SWAYAM 1.0 was Launched on July 9 2017 for equal access to quality education, increase in gross enrolment ratio in higher education from 26 to 30 in five years. This platform promotes anyone, anywhere, anytime learning.

This is done through a platform that facilitates hosting of all the courses, taught in classrooms from Class 9 till post-graduation to be accessed by anyone, anywhere at any time. There are more than 2,800 courses offered.

All the courses are interactive, prepared by teachers and are available, free of cost to any learner. More than 1,000 specially chosen faculty and teachers from across the country have participated in preparing these courses.

About 12 million students have  enrolled in the various programmes, and 0.5 million certificates have been handed out.

How does the platform work?

The courses hosted on SWAYAM are in four quadrants. This includes video lecture, specially prepared reading material that can be downloaded/printed, self-assessment tests and an online discussion forum for clearing the doubts.

SWAYAM had audio-video medium of learning.

When it comes to certifications, examinations conducted across 125 cities across India. Courses delivered through SWAYAM are available free of cost to the learners, however learners wanting a SWAYAM certificate should register for the final proctored exams that come at a fee and attend in-person at designated centres on specified dates.

Eligibility for the certificate will be announced on the course page and learners will get certificates only if these criteria match. Universities/colleges approving credit transfer for these courses can use the marks/certificate obtained in these courses for the same.

How will SWAYAM 2.0 be?

An advanced version of SWAYAM will have additional set-ups for assessing learner performance and evaluate results. It is likely that depending on the location of the student, there will be local mentors available to guide them.

Further, international programmes could also be brought to the platform so that Indian learners benefit. A mechanism for translation of the programmes in the Indian languages could enable learners to have better access to the education content.

Once a student has completed a programme and secured a fixed number of course credits as pre-decided by the institute.

Each educational institute have a different criteria and course fee for the degree programmes. Students who are selected based on eligibility criteria will have to pay the fee to get the e-degree.

Students have to register on the SWAYAM portal and then select the particular course that he/she wants to enroll into. All the relevant information will be sent to your email address.