Kerala Sets Up Expert Panel With Prabhat Patnaik, Romila Thapar To Review UGC Draft Curriculum

Kerala fears the UGC draft curriculum promotes Hindutva ideology, compromising academic neutrality and distorting history by including topics like "Ram Rajya" and biographies of Savarkar.

The panel has already held preliminary online discussions and will submit its feedback to the UGC within two weeks.

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The Kerala government has constituted a high-level committee to examine the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) draft Learning Outcomes-based Curriculum Framework (LOCF), amid apprehensions that it carries ideological undertones. Higher Education Minister Dr R Bindu said the panel, comprising eminent scholars including economist Prabhat Patnaik and historian Romila Thapar, has already held preliminary online discussions and will submit its feedback to the UGC within two weeks.

Dr Bindu alleged that the proposed framework attempts to infuse Hindutva ideology into academic syllabi, warning that it risks compromising scientific principles and distorting historical narratives. 

UGC Draft 

The UGC draft outlines curriculum changes across nine undergraduate subjects — Anthropology, Chemistry, Commerce, Economics, Geology, Home Science, Mathematics, Physical Education, and Political Science, as per a report on The Hindu. Among its controversial suggestions are the study of ‘Ram Rajya’ and ancient texts such as the Upanishads, Mahabharata and Arthashastra as references for sustainable development.

It also proposes biographies of leaders like VD Savarkar and Deendayal Upadhyaya within Political Science electives on India’s freedom movement.

Kerala Expert Panel Workings

The expert committee will evaluate the academic rigor and scientific validity of these proposals, while also assessing their implications for university autonomy in Kerala, reported The New Indian Express. Officials fear the LOCF could centralize control under the UGC, reducing states’ flexibility in designing curricula.

In addition, the panel will examine overlaps or conflicts between the LOCF and the Curriculum and Credit Framework for Undergraduate Programmes (CCFUP), which currently governs undergraduate education, reported India Today. The findings are expected to form the basis of Kerala’s official response, aimed at safeguarding both academic standards and constitutional principles.