By Nafisa Khatoon
Many students used to pursue it as an elective course as it was a scoring paper and real learning was taking a backseat
University Grants Commission (UGC) has outlined a new curriculum framework for all HEIs to introduce Environmental Education as a main subject across all disciplines. The HEIs will have to include four-credit courses and projects in community engagement and services under Environmental Education at the UG level.
The initiative aims to boost the popularity of Environmental Education to sensitize the students and make this a core subject at the UG level. Till now, the subject was offered as an elective or optional subject. Including it in the main curriculum will help in achieving the targets for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The HEIs have the flexibility to distribute the proposed number of credits per course over 6-8 semesters.
The new curriculum framework consists of 9 units with a total of 30 hours of teaching. The total credits for the course allotted are 4, and the major topics covered in the framework are:
* Humans and the environment
* Natural resources and sustainable development
* Environmental issues: local, regional and global
* Conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems
* Environmental pollution and health
* Climate change: impacts, adaptation, and mitigation
* Environmental management
* Environmental treaties and legislation
* Case studies and fieldwork
“The mandate of converting environmental education as an integral part of all the UG courses will reinforce students’ interest in environmental protection. Many students opted for this as an elective subject, as it was considered to be a scoring paper. The subject knowledge will encourage students to contribute to and safeguard our environment. The new curriculum will include subjects such as pollution, waste management, sanitation, biological diversity, management of biological resources, aligned more on assignments,” says P Deivasundari, principal of KCG College of Technology, Chennai, underlining the focus on practical implementation instead of theory lessons. Till now, the subject was offered in BTech as an elective, but now it will be included as the main subject, where the students will have to focus on practical aspects. The BTech (Design) students will have to work on sustainability such as the utility of local products such as jute and organic printing, says Deivasundari.
The effective implementation of the course is based on addressing the problems of climate change by selecting relevant topics. “Our BTech curriculum caters to need-based learning where the students learn the concepts, and their applications through tools in laboratories as well as in open areas so they develop a problem-solving mindset. The campus has a weather station that records live data. The students are being trained to work on those data to create climate simulation models for weather prediction, climate change mitigation, and adaptation strategies. This has the potential to supplement the initiatives toward community-centric climate action, especially for vulnerable regions. They are allotted projects and case studies depending on their preferred or related primary subject,” says Miniya Chatterji, founding director, Anant School for Climate Action.
Universities have been directed to hire faculty with the knowledge to impart hands-on training. Students will learn to care for their surroundings. There is a need to devise the right teaching pedagogy with experienced teachers, says Taruna Gautam, vice-chancellor, IILM University, Greater Noida. “Practical knowledge is the game changer and teachers with strong knowledge of the environment will transform the subject implementation. To boost information on biodiversity which includes the flora and fauna of an area, the students and teachers must conduct nature walks to gather environment-related data. Our university has an eco-green club, which organizes workshops on kitchen garden composting, building herbal gardens, home nursery management, and recycling plastic. The response of students is welcoming and they will be encouraged to adopt one SDG goal of their choice.”
Many students used to pursue it as an elective course as it was a scoring paper and real learning was taking a backseat
University Grants Commission (UGC) has outlined a new curriculum framework for all HEIs to introduce Environmental Education as a main subject across all disciplines. The HEIs will have to include four-credit courses and projects in community engagement and services under Environmental Education at the UG level.
The initiative aims to boost the popularity of Environmental Education to sensitize the students and make this a core subject at the UG level. Till now, the subject was offered as an elective or optional subject. Including it in the main curriculum will help in achieving the targets for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The HEIs have the flexibility to distribute the proposed number of credits per course over 6-8 semesters.
The new curriculum framework consists of 9 units with a total of 30 hours of teaching. The total credits for the course allotted are 4, and the major topics covered in the framework are:
* Humans and the environment
* Natural resources and sustainable development
* Environmental issues: local, regional and global
* Conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems
* Environmental pollution and health
* Climate change: impacts, adaptation, and mitigation
* Environmental management
* Environmental treaties and legislation
* Case studies and fieldwork
“The mandate of converting environmental education as an integral part of all the UG courses will reinforce students’ interest in environmental protection. Many students opted for this as an elective subject, as it was considered to be a scoring paper. The subject knowledge will encourage students to contribute to and safeguard our environment. The new curriculum will include subjects such as pollution, waste management, sanitation, biological diversity, management of biological resources, aligned more on assignments,” says P Deivasundari, principal of KCG College of Technology, Chennai, underlining the focus on practical implementation instead of theory lessons. Till now, the subject was offered in BTech as an elective, but now it will be included as the main subject, where the students will have to focus on practical aspects. The BTech (Design) students will have to work on sustainability such as the utility of local products such as jute and organic printing, says Deivasundari.
The effective implementation of the course is based on addressing the problems of climate change by selecting relevant topics. “Our BTech curriculum caters to need-based learning where the students learn the concepts, and their applications through tools in laboratories as well as in open areas so they develop a problem-solving mindset. The campus has a weather station that records live data. The students are being trained to work on those data to create climate simulation models for weather prediction, climate change mitigation, and adaptation strategies. This has the potential to supplement the initiatives toward community-centric climate action, especially for vulnerable regions. They are allotted projects and case studies depending on their preferred or related primary subject,” says Miniya Chatterji, founding director, Anant School for Climate Action.
Universities have been directed to hire faculty with the knowledge to impart hands-on training. Students will learn to care for their surroundings. There is a need to devise the right teaching pedagogy with experienced teachers, says Taruna Gautam, vice-chancellor, IILM University, Greater Noida. “Practical knowledge is the game changer and teachers with strong knowledge of the environment will transform the subject implementation. To boost information on biodiversity which includes the flora and fauna of an area, the students and teachers must conduct nature walks to gather environment-related data. Our university has an eco-green club, which organizes workshops on kitchen garden composting, building herbal gardens, home nursery management, and recycling plastic. The response of students is welcoming and they will be encouraged to adopt one SDG goal of their choice.”
