Best of Both Sides: UGC’s Draft Mathematics Curriculum Will Make Students Less Capable
R Ramanujam | 26 September 2025 | The Indian Express
The draft undergraduate curriculum for Mathematics proposed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) seeks to create mathematical knowledge and skills that are contemporary and, at the same time, rooted in Indian heritage, in alignment with the goals articulated in the NEP, 2020. Unfortunately, as has been pointed out by a large group of mathematicians and teachers of Mathematics, it does not come anywhere close to achieving such lofty goals. It is termed a Learning Outcomes-based Curriculum Framework (LOCF) but it is hard to see what learning outcomes it assures.
Considering that the proposals will have an impact on what will be taught in thousands of colleges and universities to lakhs of students, it is important that the UGC provide a forward-looking curriculum, one that develops strong mathematical foundations, enables students to face the uncertainties of 21st-century life and contribute to socio-economic development. But the proposal compromises even the current strength in core Mathematics, adopts a mechanical attitude to applications and fails even in its attempt to provide rootedness in Indian heritage…