Education in India dreams new heights: HRD Minister launches five verticals of Quality Mandate
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New Delhi, December 27: Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank yesterday launched the five documents developed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) covering the 5 verticals of Quality Mandate which cover evaluation reforms, eco-friendly and sustainable university campuses, human values and professional ethics, faculty induction and academic research integrity.
Speaking on the occasion, Nishank said that to improve the quality in Higher Educational Institutions, UGC has adopted the Higher Education Quality Improvement Programme Mandate. He said, the quality mandate aims at evolving higher education system to equip the country’s next-generation with vital skills, knowledge and ethics for leading a rewarding life.
Evaluation reforms:
The Minister further said, student evaluation plays a crucial role in improving the quality of Higher Education in the country. He said, in order to make student assessment more meaningful, effective and linked to Learning Outcomes, the report ‘Evaluation Reforms in Higher Educational Institutions in India’ is very timely and beneficial for HEIs.
Eco-friendly campuses:
Further referring to SATAT- Framework for Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Campus development in Higher Educational Institutions, He said, the framework encourages universities to adopt reflective policies and practices to enhance the environmental quality of the campus and to adopt sustainable green and sustainable methods in its future.
Personal and professional ethics:
Recognising the need to discuss and streamline the process that helps to infuse the culture of human values and ethics in educational institutions, UGC has also developed a policy framework named ‘MulyaPravah - Guidelines for Inculcation of Human values and Professionals Ethics in Higher Educational Institutions’.
Faculty Induction:
The minister hoped that the Guidelines for Guru-Dakshta - A guide to Faculty Induction Programme will fulfil its main objective to sensitise and motivate the faculty to adopt learner-centred approaches, ICT integrated learning and new pedagogic approaches to teaching-learning, assessment tools in higher education.
Academic research integrity:
Nishank emphasized the importance of promoting high-quality research and creation of new knowledge by faculty members. He lauded UGC’s efforts for setting up a Consortium for Academic and Research Ethics (UGC-CARE) to continuously monitor and identify quality journals across disciplines. He also hoped that the CARE website and Reference List of Quality Journals will be useful to create more awareness and help the cause of promoting academic integrity and ethical publishing.