UGC’s Draft Curriculum Criticized as Primitive by Students Federation of India

Fast Summary

• The University Grants Commission (UGC) recently released a draft Learning Outcomes-based Curriculum Framework (LOCF) for nine subjects.
• the Left-leaning Students’ Federation of India (SFI) has criticized the LOCF as “primitive and unscientific.”
• SFI plans to hold protests at UGC offices and regional centers nationwide on August 27, 2025. On August 25-26, thay will burn copies of the LOCF draft at university campuses across India.
• The SFI highlighted specific concerns:

– Chemistry curriculum begins with a salutation to Saraswati.
– Commerce curriculum includes teaching Kautilya’s Arthashastra.
– Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s book The Indian War of Independence is included in the reading list for India’s freedom movement studies.

• SFI alleges this represents ideological bias and an attempt to “push RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] agenda through education.”
• Citing Article 51A(h) of India’s Constitution, the organization claimed that saffronization contradicts citizens’ duty to promote scientific temper, inquiry, humanism, and reform.

indian Opinion analysis

The release of UGC’s draft LOCF has ignited controversy due to alleged ideological influences in curricular content.Some inclusions-such as savarkar’s work on India’s freedom struggle-have been met with critically important opposition from groups like the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), which accused it of historical revisionism aimed at advancing partisan narratives.

These protests indicate concerns about potential politicization within education policymaking-a space that theoretically exists free from ideologies in service to national objectives like scientific literacy and balanced knowlege dissemination. This issue could have broader implications for how academic resources are curated and perceived by students nationwide. A constructive dialog among stakeholders might prove key not only in addressing these criticisms but also ensuring clarity in decisions surrounding curricula development.Read more at: Link source