NCC curriculum to be included in undergraduate courses from FY 2023-24: Odisha govt

Bhubaneswar: Odisha government has decided to include the National Cadet Corps (NCC) curriculum in undergraduate (UG) courses from FY 2023-24, as per a directive of the University Grants Commission and subsequent consensus arrived at a meeting of vice-chancellors held on October 21, 2022.

The curriculum will be introduced in all universities and autonomous colleges in the State.

Based on the model syllabus of the UGC, NCC is to be taught as a general elective subject at the UG level. A notification was issued in this regard yesterday by the state Higher Education department and all vice-chancellors and principals were duly informed about the government decision.

According to a source, as NCC curriculum is presently not a part of the academic courses, the cadets do not get any additional benefit with respect to the scoring of good marks and additional marks are not being added to their respective total sum. It was attempted in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 to bridge the prevalent gap between curricular and extra-curricular activities.

Hence, NCC curriculum will now be treated as a general elective credit course under the provisions as envisaged in the Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS), an administrative official clarified.

Notably, this new decision of the State government will benefit the cadets of around 183 varsities and autonomous colleges that have NCC units. Moreover, the curriculum will be included in Arts, Science and Commerce stream with the subject having 100 marks in toto per semester.

Trained NCC officials will work as faculties and conduct written as well as practical tests. After successful completion of the course, cadets will get credit points, thereby helping them to score better marks and clear the undergraduate exams in Odisha universities and autonomous colleges.