‘Quality mandate manual is visionary; institutions must adopt, implement’

By RC Kuhad

The month of April which marks the beginning of the admission process every year has arrived with the threatening second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the unprecedented adverse circumstances, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have been consistently pursuing the vision of quality higher education in the country.

To streamline the process of quality higher education from enrolment to graduation, UGC devised the Manual of Quality Mandate as a guiding document. The meticulously-drafted manual is an obvious outcome of consultations among great minds with vision. It is an articulation of the thoughts of visionary policy leaders who cherish the dream of bringing transformations in the sphere of higher education and research.

Now, it is the responsibility of the institutions to adopt and implement the quality initiatives envisaged in the manual with utmost sincerity and in a time-bound manner.

The quality mandates will motivate students, teachers and education administrators to commit themselves for quality transformation in various aspects of higher education. Considering the relevance of the Quality Mandate, the Central University of Haryana has decided to disseminate the essential features of these among the stakeholders through newspapers and social media.

The progress of a nation is directly proportional to its achievements in education and research. The process of education starts with primary schooling and culminates with higher education and research. The universities are responsible for research and innovation in various disciplines, and their reputation is also determined by their contribution to advanced research and innovations in the sciences, humanities, engineering, technology, social sciences and management. Therefore, it is the prime duty of researchers and intellectuals associated with a university to make sincere efforts towards creating the most conducive eco-system for quality higher education and research. It will not only bring the desired reforms in higher education but also promote quality research in areas of contemporary relevance.

The Quality Mandates brought out by UGC and AICTE shall prove to be a significant milestone in the process of achieving educational reforms. If implemented sincerely, it will establish value-oriented higher education instrumental for character-building, capacity-building and institution building. Quality higher education is a determining factor for the future of a nation, and it becomes all the more important in case of developing countries like India. For any target to be achieved, it requires concerted efforts and continuous periodical assessments.

As envisaged in National Education Policy 2020, school education should be integrated with higher education. Swami Vivekanand rightly remarked that “education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man”. Therefore, it is the duty of a teacher to nurture and groom the learner so as to help him or her master the skill and talent that he or she inherently possesses. It is expected of the teachers to impart such education that shapes and trains the mind, soul, character and sensibility of the learners. Since inception, UGC and AICTE have always been pivotal in bringing desired transformations in higher education and research, enabling the learners for all round holistic development.

Recently, UGC devised the road map for students, teachers and educational leaders that focuses on ethics of higher education and research; evaluation or assessment reforms; faculty development programmes; human values and professional ethics; roadmap for sustainable reforms; curriculum for life skills; students induction programme; learning-outcome based curriculum; and much more.

RC Kuhad is Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Haryana

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