The University Grants Commission (UGC) has revised the curriculum framework for environmental education, a mandatory course for undergraduate admissions in order to cater to students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds.

The revised framework is in line with the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and will be covering additional topics to sensitise students about the country’s commitment towards achieving sustainable development goals, UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar said.

The new draft guidelines will be released in the public domain this week, seeking suggestions from stakeholders. The course will be taught to all UG students in their second semester and students can earn four credits from it.

In 2017, the UGC framed an 8 unit’s module syllabus for the Ability Enhancement Compulsory Course (AECC-Environmental Studies) under the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS). “The present document is an outcome of the UGC’s initiative to implement NEP 2020, which has emphasised the need to formulate guidelines and curriculum framework for environmental education. The document is expected to cater to students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds,” Kumar said.

According to the new draft guidelines, the units introduced to the revised course included ‘Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation’; ‘Environmental Management’; and ‘Environmental Treaties and Legislation’.

“Environment education needs to include areas such as climate change, pollution, waste management, sanitation, conservation of biological diversity, management of biological resources and biodiversity, forest and wildlife conservation, and sustainable development,” Prof Kumar said.

The core module syllabus for environmental studies includes classroom teaching and fieldwork. The syllabus is divided into eight units covering 50 lectures. The first seven units will cover 45 lectures that are classroom-based to enhance knowledge skills and attitude towards the environment. The eighth unit will be based on field activities, the draft stated.

The NEP 2020 advocates the attainment of holistic and multidisciplinary education, through flexible and innovative curricula for all higher education institutions (HEIs), including credit-based courses and projects in the areas of community engagement and service, environmental education, and value-based education.

In 2015, United Nations members adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which provides a blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.

“Continuing problems of pollution, loss of forests, solid waste disposal, degradation of the environment, issues like economic productivity and national security, global warming, the depletion of the ozone layer and loss of biodiversity have made everyone aware of environmental issues. Out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), six goals are directly linked to environmental protection and resource conservation and hence the need for students to study these subjects while pursuing higher education,” Prof Kumar added.

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