THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) has constituted a high-level committee to evaluate the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) draft Learning Outcomes-based Curriculum Frameworks (LOCFs). The UGC has circulated draft frameworks for nine subjects and has invited feedback from stakeholders before its finalisation.
The state government had raised serious concerns over the draft curricula and directed KSHEC to study the m atter and prepare an evaluation report. KSHEC’s high-level committee, chaired by economist Prabhat Patnaik (JNU), will have KSHEC vice-chairperson Rajan Gurukkal as its co-chairman. Other members of the panel are Vani Kesari (professor, Cusat), N J Rao (professor, retd, IISc), and KSHEC member secretary Rajan Varughese (convenor). Prof Romila Thapar (JNU) will be the special invitee to the committee.
The committee has been tasked with a critical evaluation of the UGC’s draft curricula, focusing on their academic rigor, scientific validity, ideological neutrality, and compatibility with Kerala’s long-standing traditions of secular and inclusive education.
The committee will also assess the potential impact of the draft curricula on the autonomy of state universities. The move comes amid concerns that the proposed frameworks could result in greater centralisation of curricular control under the UGC.