UGC releases draft guidelines for multidisciplinary higher education, check highlights

University Grants Commission on March 5, released the draft guidelines for transforming Higher Education Institutions, HEIs into Multidisciplinary Institutions enabling HEIs. This in turn will cover a wide range of subjects with various departments. These guidelines have been drafted post considering the recommendation of National Education Policy 2020. The NEP 2020 states to establish large multidisciplinary HEIs in or near every district by the year 2030.

The NEP also highlights that all affiliated colleges should become degree-awarding multidisciplinary autonomous institutions by 2035. This will enable the government to implement online distance learning for students. It will make colleges more diversified subjects and provide more opportunities and segments towards online education.

“This will ensure that colleges with poor enrollment and fewer resources can offer multidisciplinary programmes and can have access to better facilities for the benefit of all,” read the guidelines

Know what is multidisciplinary institution

It means the colleges will have to have a strengthened infrastructure and new age subject combinations for various courses. UGC in its draft has mentioned, "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."

To set up educational institutions as multidisciplinary HEIs, UGC has formulated three approaches:

1. Academic collaboration between institutions.

2. Merger of single-stream institutions with other multidisciplinary institutions.

3. Strengthening of institutions by adding departments in subjects.

What's the plan of UGC

1. Turning all affiliated colleges into degree-awarding multidisciplinary autonomous institutions by 2035.
2. Offering dual-degrees.
3. Allowing groups of colleges to join hands and transform into universities.
4. Through this proposed restructuring, the regulator hopes to raise the standards of higher education by breaking down silos.