Quality Mandate in Higher Education

As we know that the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ) has launched the Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ) which are 17 in number and the number four is 'Quality Education' and as India is a signatory of the UNESCO's SDGs, the University Grants Commission ( UGC ) of India has issued a 'Quality Mandate for Higher Education' on May, 2018 which has 5 objectives with 10 verticles.

With this view, rhe UGC has also launched various programmes some of which are summarised below :-

1) Deeksharambh Programme : it is aimed for the new students entering the institutes so that they can know about the ethos of the Institute, all the activities carried on in the institute, etc. It is a 6-days programme and 1000 teachers have been trained for it. 500 institutes in India have already implemented this programme.

2) Paramarsh Programme : with a target that by 2022, every 'Higher Education Institute' in India be accredited by 'National Assessment and Accreditation Council' ( NAAC ), UGC has launched this programme. Under this, more than 900 institutes in India will be mentored by 167 listed institutes by UGC which have scored more than 3.5 grading by NAAC.

3) STRIDE ( Scheme for Trans Disciplinary Research for India's Developing Economy ) Programme : it has been launched to promote inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary research in varuous Institutes for Higher Education in India. The management of this programme has been entrusted to the 'Banaras Hindu University' ( BHU ).

These steps taken by UGC for improving the quality of Higher Education in India are appreciable but the essence of them lie in their implementation. Just like there are various rules for driving on a road but hardly anyone of us follow them all, in the same way, implementation of these programmes diligently shall draw the picture of Higher Education in India in the years to come.