UGC invites feedback on revised draft NCF, guidelines on social responsibility, community engagement in HEIs

NEW DELHI: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has invited suggestions on revised draft National Curriculum Framework, and guidelines on “fostering social responsibility and community engagement in higher education institutions in India”. The Commission has invited feedback from students, teachers, researchers and all stakeholders by March 15.

The stakeholders can send their suggestions on University Activity Monitoring Portal (UAMP) at ugc.in.in.uamp.

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The Commission has revised the draft guidelines as per the recommendations of National Education Policy (NEP 2020).

“The UGC as a Subject Expert Group (UGC-SEG) on Curricular Reforms and Educational Institutions Social Responsibility as part of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) 2.0 prepared the National Curriculum Framework and Guidelines for "Fostering "Social Responsibility and Community Engagement in Higher Education Institution in India” in 2020 which is also one of the verticals of UGC's Quality Mandate that is social and industry connect for every HEI. This curriculum has been revised in the light of the recommendations of NEP 2020,” UGC said in an official notification.

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The Unnat Bharat Abhiyan' (UBA 2.0) is a flagship programme of the government which aims at bringing a transformational change in rural development by the active participation of colleges and universities with local communities, and reorientation of curricula and R&D design of knowledge Institutions, it said.

UGC revised guidelines

UGC has divided the revised draft guidelines according to NEP 2020 into four sub sections mainly:

• Recommended curriculum for a new compulsory course in community engagement for all UG and PG students in HEIs.
• Suggestions for modifying existing courses and curriculum to align with national framework outlined above
• Offering new audit courses for promoting community engagement and social responsibility
• Undertaking research in partnership with local community

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The goals of ‘fostering social responsibility and community engagement in HEIs’ can comprise of

• Improving the quality of teaching, learning in HEIs, by bridging the gap between theory and practice through community engagement
• Promoting deeper interactions between higher educational institutions and local communities for identification and solution of real-life problems faced by the communities in a spirit of mutual benefit
• Facilitating partnerships between local communities and institutions of higher education so that students and teachers can learn from local knowledge and wisdom
• Engaging higher education institutions with local communities in order to make curriculum, courses and pedagogies more appropriate to achieving the goals of national development
• Catalysing acquisition of values of public service and active citizenship amongst students and youth alike, which would also encourage, nurture and harness the natural idealism of youth
• Undertaking research projects in partnership with local community through community-based research methods