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UGC Chairman Interacts live with Students, Faculties, and other Stakeholders

The event was streamed live on the official YouTube channel of the UGC and on all of their social media platforms

New Delhi: The Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Professor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar interacted in a live session with stakeholders where he addressed several queries they raised. The event was streamed live on the official YouTube channel of the UGC and on all of their social media platforms on March 15, 2023. The interaction was titled ‘SAMVAD’. It is part of ongoing series on UGC’s e-Samadhaan Portal(https://samadhaan.ugc.ac.in).

UGC came up with the "e-Samadhan Online Grievance Registering and Monitoring System" in 2022. It is a digital platform for Stakeholders to identify and apply for grievances/feedback/queries. Every two months, top officers at the UGC address the questions and take feedback online. Usually, the questions are invited on social media platforms a week before. They are also allowed to send them through the comment box of the platforms. 

The commission’s chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar addressed the session. Before taking questions, he overviewed the past few relevant UGC reforms. “One of the most important reforms we brought out recently is the National Credit Framework,” He said. The National Credit Framework (NCrF) has been jointly developed by UGC, AICTE, NCVET,
NIOS, CBSE, NCERT, Ministry of Education, DGT, and Ministry of Skill Development to
achieve this vision and intent of the National Educational Policy (NEP).  
“It integrates school education, higher education, and skill education,” He added. For higher education, students can go to universities and higher education institutions and for skill education, students can do apprenticeships for credit.  NCrF envisages the ‘Academic Bank of Credits (ABC)’. It is a virtual storehouse that collects information on individual credits of students and allows credit transfer of students. “NCrF will allow you to move from skill education to general education and vice versa,” he said.

Another important reform he talked about is the National Digital University. UGC will soon open the National Digital University which will offer exclusively online courses. It will come through an act of parliament. “We already have huge digital resources available at our NPTEL and SWAYAM platforms,” He said, “a lot of new digital resources will be added when the university will join.” The degree provided by NDU will be on par with degrees given by other universities. UGC has approved 40% of a program in online mode. You can also do two degrees simultaneously. The opening of National Digital University will provide students with resources that can increase their employability.  According to M. Jagdesh Kumar, the work for NDU is going on at a rapid rate. “NDU is to be started in July this year or January next year. We will first introduce certificate and diploma programs. In subsequent years, we will start with full-fledged degree programs.” He said. 

The chairman also stated that the regulation that will allow Indian universities to settle campuses abroad is in its final stages. It is expected to be released soon. And as for the status of the deemed-to-be-universities, he highlighted that their governing structure is not in tune with the other universities’ governing structure. “We are bringing some uniformity in that through new regulations,” He commented.  Regulations for Autonomous colleges are expected to provide them with flexibility.

He also addressed the questions raised by many stakeholders. While speaking of funds allotment to the private university, he clarified that many UGC schemes are open for both government and private institutions. “To ensure that institutes are utilizing funds provided by the commission, we want to make sure that the quality of research and education there is of certain standards.” Private universities are required to get NAAC accreditation to be eligible for funds. UGC also plans to make surprise visits to check the actual status of the universities. If any institute is not following UGCs regulations, stakeholders are invited to inform the commission. NEP has suggested binary accreditation and not the accreditation on a scale of 0-4.

While addressing the clash of dates between the UGC NET examination and other examinations, the chairman explained that one of the NEP's aims is to minimize the number of tests. “It’s better to have one single national test. Keeping that in mind, we have introduced CUET. This will reduce the number of tests and stress on students.” The clashes in exam dates will be reduced too. 

NEP also put emphasis on internships, skill education, and apprenticeship. A few efforts in this direction were highlighted. UGC is working with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to address this issue. Recently, a committee has been formed that is preparing guidelines for short-term skill courses. Guidelines for undergraduate students are also in talks. The internships will be provided not only for technical courses but also for non-technical courses. A central portal will be created to register all the internship providers. Internships are also part of the four-year undergraduate program and the definition of the internship has been widened. Credits have been assigned for internships and they will be mandatory for all undergraduate students. 

Speaking of Ph.D., he highlighted that Ph.D. is not mandatory for the post of assistant professor in universities. Candidates are only required to clear UGC NET to be eligible for the post. If scholars are facing problems in availing of the NET JRF scholarship, they can contact the nodal officer at the university. If the problem persists, they are advised to submit their complaint online at UGC’s portal.

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