UGC initiates new curriculum to promote environmental education at UG level

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has now outlined a new curriculum framework for all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to include Environmental education as a main subject across all disciplines.

According to a report published by the Times of India, the HEIs will have to include four-credit courses along with projects in community engagement and services under Environmental Education at the undergraduate level.

The report also mentions that many students only opted for environmental education as part of their elective course and scoring in the examination was comparatively easy. However, in the due process of choosing it as an elective, the real learning of individuals took a backseat.

The initiative aims to boost the popularity of Environmental Education to sensitize the students and make it a core subject instead of being offered as an elective or optional subject. According to the report, including Environmental education in the main curriculum will help in achieving the targets for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

UGC has given the HEIs some flexibility regarding distributing the proposed number of credits per course over six to eight semesters.

The new curriculum framework will consist of nine units with a total of 30 hours of teaching. A total of four credits are allotted in the course and some of the major topics covered include, humans and the environment, natural resources and sustainable development, conservation of biodiversity, and ecosystems among others.

Universities have been directed by UGC to hire faculty with the knowledge to impart hands-on training. Taruna Gautam, vice-chancellor, of IILM University, Greater Noida said to ToI that students will learn to care for their surroundings and there is a need to devise the right teaching pedagogy with experienced teachers.