BENGALURU: The state government has opposed the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) draft Learning Outcomes-based Curriculum Framework (LOCF) for undergraduate programmes, calling it an attempt to impose ideological content and undermine the federal structure of education.
Higher Education Minister MC Sudhakar on Thursday announced it during the MoU signing ceremony of 68 government first-grade colleges with Board of Apprenticeship Training (BOAT) to impart them with skills needed for careers in emerging sectors.
He announced that the draft would not be accepted, and a committee under the Karnataka Higher Education Council (KHEC) would be set up to examine the proposed framework. The UGC’s draft, aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, proposes revisions in nine disciplines and calls for integrating traditional Indian knowledge systems into mainstream teaching.
In Commerce and Economics, it suggests studying Ram Rajya alongside CSR and ESG frameworks, while texts like the Upanishads, Mahabharata, and Arthashastra are recommended for lessons on ethics and sustainability.
It also proposes electives on VD Savarkar and Deendayal Upadhyaya, with Savarkar’s The Indian War of Independence listed as recommended reading — a move critics say could narrow the narrative of India’s freedom struggle.
Other proposed changes included Vedic maths, panchanga, muhurta, Saraswati Vandana, and many more. Academics and opposition groups have criticised the framework as “regressive, unscientific, and ideologically biased”, claiming that it promotes Hindutva through selective cultural references.
“The UGC is a regulatory body, but this interference in curriculum is unacceptable. In a federal structure, they cannot dictate to states. Education is a concurrent subject, and the Supreme Court has upheld this in earlier cases. At the face of it, we are opposing it,” he said.
He termed it as “another attempt by the Centre to centralise education and seed its ideology among students,” Sudhakar said. The minister also opposed the High Court order and said: “If we implement the HC order straightaway, nearly 5,500 guest lecturers who lack UGC qualifications will be out of work tomorrow.
Many of them have served for 8, 10, or even 15 years. As a responsible government, we must balance ethics and humanity — we cannot simply discard people who have served for years, while at the same time we are also bound to respect the court’s judgment.”
Meanwhile, Sudhakar said that Karnataka’s State Education Policy (SEP), prepared under the chairmanship of economist Prof Sukhadeo Thorat, will soon be presented to the Cabinet. “The CM has received the 500-page comprehensive report. Officials are consolidating its key recommendations, which will be placed before the cabinet shortly,” he said.