NEW DELHI: In a first, the University Grants Commission (UGC) on Tuesday launched a comprehensive plan for its officials to build and enhance their abilities, efficiency and qualifications to increase their capacity to serve the higher educational system in India.
Speaking with this paper, UGC Chairman Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar said that UGC is the 1st autonomous organisation to have initiated planning for the capacity building of their employees in collaboration with the Capacity Building Commission (CBC), which was established by the centre in 2021.
He said the Annual Capacity Building Plan (ACBP) is a comprehensive plan outlining interventions essential for enhancing individual officials' competencies and the overall capacity of UGC.
“..this plan is derived from a robust Capacity Need Assessment exercise done with UGC officials and staff over six months starting from March 2023,” he said.
Kumar launched the programme in the presence of Dr. R Balasubramanium, Member HR, Capacity Building Commission.
So far, more than 600 UGC employees have been onboarded on the iGot Karmayogi platform by September 15, 2023.
In the first quarter - October to December 2023 - 630 UGC employees have completed more than 4,500 courses, each completing an average of seven courses.
During 2023, UGC has also organised various offline/face-to-face training programs on reservation in services, introduction to emerging technologies using AI, overview of data-driven decision-making (DDDM) using Higher Education data and relevant use cases, PFMS Awareness of general financial rules, contract management and purchase of services, RTI etc. for its employees.
It plans to continue the same to strengthen the capacity of its employees and support the government’s initiative of Mission Karmayogi for Skill enhancement of government employees.
Kumar said the programme has been launched with the “idea to build, develop and enhance the abilities, talents, competencies, efficiency and qualifications of UGC employees to increase their capacity to serve the higher educational system in India.”
There are four focus areas – behavioural competencies, functional competencies, domain competencies and technology competencies.
While behavioural competencies help the UGC staff the ability to take up bigger roles than what they usually perform, functional competencies help them achieve better in administration, procurement and financial management.
“Enhancing domain competencies helps them perform better in specialised fields such as policy making or project management. Training in newer technology competencies helps them to realise shorter turn-around time and improve efficiency, better digital record keeping and utilise technology platforms to reach out to the stakeholders,” Kumar said.