Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttarakhand are among the first cohort of states and union territories which will receive training for teaching the foundational Indian Knowledge System (lKS) courses at Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels for the academic year 2023-2024 between July 24 to July 29, 2023.
The second cohort will include Maharashtra, Gujrat, Goa, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh who will get training from July 31 to August, 05, 2023. Teachers in other 24 states and UTs will receive the training in different groups till October 14.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) in collaboration with the IKS Division of Ministry of Education will organise a six-day short term face to face training programme for 1,000 teachers at six HRDCs during July-October, 2023.
Universities and Colleges have been asked to nominate two regular faculty members for the IKS courses training. “Preference will be given to faculty in the order of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and full Professors who are currently teaching/plan to teach an introductory course in IKS in the current 2023-2024 academic year,” a UGC letter said.
The IKS courses will be offered in three streams which includes- Engineering, Science and Technology as well as Humanities and Social Sciences. Additionally, MBBS students are also advised to opt for IKS courses to learn about Indian medicine practices.
A total of 18 foundational courses and 19 elective courses have been incorporated into curriculums at all educational levels to familiarise students with Indian intellectual, scientific and artistic knowledge traditions. These courses will hold at least five percent weightage of the total mandated credits for students to obtain a degree.
The classes for the lKS courses will begin from July 31, 2023, as per UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar. These courses will be treated at par with other short term courses under the scheme of UGC HRDC.