Will encourage students to take courses on Indian Knowledge System: UGC

New Delhi: From Vedic concepts of astronomy to plastic surgery, Ayurveda to Yoga, higher education students will be encouraged to take courses on Indian Knowledge System as part of their academic curriculum, according to the University Grants Commission.

According to the draft guidelines, courses on Indian Knowledge System (IKS) will have to account for at least five per cent of the total mandated credits that a student is expected to earn to obtain an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.

“The undergraduate curriculums are diverse and have varied subjects to be covered to meet the needs of the programmes. It is not possible to have a single prescription for all the various UG and PG programmes in the country,” the draft said.

“The primary purpose of the guidelines is to help the institutions come up with courses that will introduce the students to all aspects of IKS which are related to their fields of study and to promote interest in knowing and exploring more. A 10-year horizon is envisioned for the application of these guidelines, along with a revision and modification after five years to meet the evolving needs,” it said.

According to the commission, IKS is a systematised disciplines of knowledge developed to a high degree of sophistication in India from ancient times and all of the traditions and practises that the various communities, including tribal, have evolved, refined and preserved over generations.

“Student enrolled in a UG or PG programme should be encouraged to take credit courses in IKS amounting in all to at least five per cent of the total mandated credits. And at least 50 per cent of the credits apportioned to the IKS should be related to the major discipline and should be accounted for the credits assigned to the major discipline,” the draft said.

The splendid geographical isolation of India and the uniqueness of Indian culture, Ramayana and Mahabharata, and their important regional versions; Puranas, foundational texts of Indian Philosophies, including the Jaina and Bauddha; foundational Texts of Indian religious sampradayas, from the Vedic period to the Bhakti traditions of different regions are among the courses prescribed under the IKS.