New Delhi: The latest guidelines from the University Grants Commission (UGC) focused on the physical and mental well-being of students, suggested setting up of Student Service Centers (SSCs) in higher educational institutions for students from rural backgrounds, diverse cultures and with special needs.
The UGC’s ‘Guidelines for the promotion of physical fitness, sports, health, well-being, psychological and emotional well-being of students in higher educational institutions of India’ was released on 12 April.
As per UGC, campuses will have to maintain data on activities in SSC, and may consider assigning bodies such as National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), National Board of Accreditation (NBA) and National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). Marks/grades for SSC in colleges and universities.
The SSC will be managed by a director/dean-level person equivalent to the rank of professor from disciplines such as psychology, physical education and sports, psychiatry, social work or sociology. Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) have further been advised to sign agreements with bodies like AIIMS and NIMHANS to provide advanced pharmaco-psychiatric support.
SSC will also interact with other bodies such as SC/ST Cell, Gender Equity Center and Student Welfare Committees in educational institutions, the guidelines state.
Further, the UGC has suggested that courses on mental health may be included in the curriculum, with some credits being allotted for their successful completion.
The guidelines come at a time when student suicides in HEIs are making headlines.
According to statistics Presented in Parliament last month, 33 students in various Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) across the country have died by suicide since 2018.
at IIT Madras third such case was reported earlier this month.
Of the three institutes for which data was presented, IITs had the maximum number of student suicides, the other two being the National Institutes of Technology (NITs), which reported 24 such deaths during the period, and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) ), with four such deaths.
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‘Gym, Yoga Center’ for students
Along with the mental health of the students, the UGC has advised higher education institutions to pay attention to the physical health of the students as well.
To ensure that students are physically active, the guidelines advise: “HEIs need to create necessary outdoor and indoor sports facilities and infrastructure on campus. There should be a state-of-the-art gymnasium and yoga centre. The HEI has to ensure proper functioning of all such facilities available in the campus.”
They further recommend that National Service Scheme (NSS), National Cadet Corps (NCC) and other similar methods should be used to meaningfully engage the students.
Self-defense classes have been suggested for female students, as well as HEIs have been asked to incorporate local and regional sports and forms of exercise, apart from yoga, to enhance student fitness levels.
As per the guidelines, campuses should ensure that there is participation of students in academic and co-curricular activities apart from engagement with society and ecology through field training, job placement activities, educational tours and summer internships.
(Editing by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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