The University Grants Commission (UGC) plans to focus more on building strong alumni networks in higher educational institutions as part of a 10-point agenda set up by it last year.

“The idea is to make alumni networks in the Central universities and other higher institutes as strong as IITs and IIMs. Having strong alumni connections not only helps in providing funds to the institution but also plays a crucial role during placements,” said a source.

Last year, the UGC had announced 10 objectives as part of the quality mandate for higher educational institutions, to be achieved by 2022. These included improving students’ learning outcomes, promoting student linkages so that they get access to employment, and ensuring every institution gets NAAC accreditation with a minimum score of 2.5.

Fitness campaign

Meanwhile, the UGC recently introduced new guidelines to implement the ‘Fit India Campaign’ in higher educational institutions. Under this, the institutions have been requested to “rework their academic calendars to incorporate physical activities and sports”.

“We have updated the guidelines for the campaign. However, it will take us some time to comment on the response it is receiving,” another source said.

Last week, the UGC sent a circular to its affiliated universities approving a two-credit course on ‘Research and Publication Ethics’ to create awareness about publication ethics and misconducts.

The course will cover open access publications and plagiarism tools. Initially, it will be available for M.Phil and Ph.D students and for interested faculty members. At a later stage, it will be made available to post-graduate students as well.

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