Shimla, June 4: The Himachal Pradesh Government has issued a notification restructuring undergraduate education in government colleges in accordance with the National Education Policy (NEP) from the academic session 2026-27.
Under the new policy, 26 Government Degree Colleges with student enrolment exceeding 1,500 will offer a Four-Year Undergraduate Degree Programme (FYUGP) with Honours or Honours with Research options. The Honours with Research programme will be available only in subjects where at least two recognized PhD supervisors are available.
Additionally, three Government Degree Colleges with enrolment between 1,000 and 1,500 students will offer the four-year Honours degree programme.
The existing three-year undergraduate degree programme will continue in the remaining 91 Government Degree Colleges and at DAV College Kotkhai.
As part of education reforms announced in the 2026-27 Budget, the government has also decided to merge nine government colleges with fewer than 75 students into government colleges located at their respective district headquarters. Furthermore, Government Degree College Kukumseri will be merged with Government Degree College Kullu.
No fresh admissions will be made in these ten colleges during the 2026-27 academic session. Existing students will be adjusted in district headquarters colleges, while students opting to study there will receive a monthly scholarship of ₹5,000.
The notification also provides for the introduction of four-year undergraduate programmes with Honours and Honours with Research in Government Sanskrit Colleges at Phagli, Sundernagar, and Nahan in subjects such as Sahityacharya, Darshanacharya, Jyotishacharya, Vyakaranacharya and Vedacharya.
The state government has also granted permission to four aided colleges—St. Bede’s College, MCM DAV College, LMS College, and SVSD College—to offer four-year undergraduate programmes with Honours or Honours with Research.
The government has clarified that these programmes must operate within the existing faculty and staff strength, without any additional posts or financial assistance. The continuation of the programmes will depend on maintaining a minimum enrolment of 1,000 students in each institution.
