UGC organized a southern zone conference for autonomous colleges on 14 November 2024. The conference focused on ‘Implementation of NEP 2020.’
The event by University Grants Commission (UGC) was conducted at IIT Madras in Chennai.
The Conference witnessed the participation of academics from many institutions who discussed the various aspects of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, say sources from UGC.
NEP
NEP 2020 was launched on 29th July 2020. All-out efforts are being made to disseminate the details about the Policy among various stakeholders and to ensure its implementation by the Higher Educational Institutions.
Sessions
This conference included sessions for academics on topics such as ‘Thematic brainstorming by participants on implementation strategies for NEP 2020 participants.’
It has sessions on National Credit Framework Implementation, Academic Bank of Credits, Digital Empowerment and Research and Innovation Ecosystem among other topics.
Enhancement
Sessions were also held on Enhancing the Employability of the Graduates, Bhartiya Bhasha, Indian Knowledge System and Internationalization and NEP: Effective Implementation and Monitoring, say sources from UGC.
Chairman of UGC
Addressing the inaugural session, Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar, Chairman, UGC, said access, equity and inclusivity in higher education are essential determinants of how far our students will advance, take up positions in society and excel in their respective professions.
Educational institutions must ensure that higher education is affordable, fair, and supportive for our students to succeed, said Chairman of UGC.
UGC Chairman further said providing students with appropriate skills and competencies is essential to help them become self-employed or gain employment.
UGC is working on making the skill courses in different domains available to the students through the Swayam Plus portal, he said.
While students can take 50 per cent of the credits for majoring in a given discipline, they can complete skill courses up to 50 per cent of the remaining total credits required in a degree program such as BA, BSc and BCom, he said.
This will help the students in meeting their academic and career goals, said UGC chairman.
Languages
Chairman of UGC, Prof M Jagadeesh Kumar also said we must promote our Indian languages as a medium of instruction in higher education to enhance learning outcomes.
For students coming from rural backgrounds, teaching in Indian languages will make education more inclusive. English can always be learnt as a tool for communication, he said.
All technologically and economically advanced countries teach in higher education institutes in their language, he said.
Guidelines
The UGC had issued guidelines on different kinds of internships such as research internships and industry internships to the students.
Educational institutions should actively collaborate with different organizations and strive to provide internship opportunities to students, say sources from UGC.
Experiential learning is crucial because it allows students to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world situations and prepares them for practical challenges in their careers.
Internships make education more meaningful and impactful to the students.
Enrollment
Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, our Gross Enrollment Ratio into Higher Education System stands around 30%.
As per the World Population Census, we are the youngest population in the age group of 15 to 35, he said.
If we do not do the education right at this juncture, 10 years down the line, there is a possibility that we may become the most uneducated nation in the world, he said.
There is a big academic need that we all need to be aware of and rise to the occasion, he said.
Leaders
There is a need today to create leaders for tomorrow and this leadership can come from three sectors – the teaching profession as we need very good teachers, the second can come from those who are into administrative services and have a good understanding of technology as by 2047, when we reach the 100th year of Independence, technology is probably going to be the most significant building block for governance, said Prof V Kamakoti.
The third are entrepreneurs, great leaders who have built up big companies that could solve societal problems creating a very big socio-economic impact. These three points figure at multiple places in the NEP, he said.
Examination
UGC has also permitted universities to conduct end semester examination along with the regular semester examinations.
Students need to avoid taking the end-semester exams conducted by National Testing Agency saving their time and money, say sources from UGC.
The Institutions should encourage as many students as possible to take SWAYAM courses.
Students
While students can take 50 per cent of the credits for majoring in a given discipline, they can complete skill courses up to 50 per cent of the remaining total credits required in a degree program such as BA, BSc and BCom. This will help the students in meeting their academic and career goals.
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