Presently, there is no uniformity in the academic schedule followed by the various varsities and colleges, and this is often a hurdle for students taking a transfer from one university to another. "We decided to adopt this uniformity now because many students, after completing their course from a particular university, find that dates for admission to other. Universities have lapsed. There were complaints of missed opportunities since there was no uniformity," a top official in the HRD Ministry said.

Last year, the Government had appointed an expert committee comprising former VC of Anna University Prof M.Anandakrishnan, former VC of Mysore University Dr S.N.Hegde and Secretary General of Association of Indian Universities Prof Dayanand Dongaonkar to look into the feasibilitv of establishing a uniform academic calendar, and its report has now been accepted.

However, for professional courses a flexibility of two weeks may be allowed in commencement of classes. The results for all courses shall be declared by not later than the last week of June.