New Delhi: University Grants Commission (UGC) has released a draft guidelines for single-stream institutions into large multidisciplinary universities and autonomous degree-awarding educational institutions by 2035.
This has been done in accordance with the recommendations made in NEP 2020, which include the establishment of large multidisciplinary HEIs in or near every district by 2030.
Such a step would allow colleges and universities to have a wide diversity of available subjects and also provide more online education opportunities.
The colleges under UGC now follow the ‘affiliating system’, under which the universities decide the syllabus for the courses, conduct examinations and award degrees for the college. Only the classes are taken by the college professors.
But according to the new draft, these colleges will be put on the “track of progressive autonomy” leading to a degree-awarding institution and finally into a university.
UGC Guidelines: How will Colleges Become Multidisciplinary?
The colleges which till now used to provide single subject degrees will now be offering a cluster of subjects covering various fields. According to the guidelines, colleges should open departments for languages, literature, music, philosophy, Indology, art, dance, theatre, education, mathematics, statistics, and more to achieve a multidisciplinary character.
UGC said in draft: “A multidisciplinary institution should not only have different departments, but also imaginative and flexible curricular structures to enable creative combinations of disciplines for study.”
“Innovative programmes of a multi- and interdisciplinary nature help widen learners’ thinking and learning capability and train them to address emerging challenges. An approach to help students to follow their passion is, therefore, a key recommendation towards innovative and flexible education,” it added.
Setting Up of School Of Education, PhD Training Institutes
According to the draft, UGC has also mentioned the setting up of a department of education at every multidisciplinary institute. These departments will not only offer courses on education and training but will also offer four-year integrated programmes, in collaboration with other departments such as psychology, philosophy, sociology, neuroscience, Indian languages, arts, history, literature, science and mathematics.
The existing, as well as planned education departments, will be named ‘School of Education’ in universities and as ‘Department of Education’ in colleges. In June this year, education minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced that the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) will also begin offering a four-year BEd course. It also emphasises the need to link courses and programmes to the job market, national and regional development needs and needs of life and the community.
Also Read:
Subscribe to Collegedunia to get the latest educational news and updates –
Comments