Uncertainty looms large over inter, multi and transdisciplinary studies?

Hyderabad: Is confusion and uncertainty hitting state universities and colleges as they integrate interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary studies into their regular, distance, and credit-earning courses? This issue arises against the backdrop of the University Grants Commission (UGC) launching a series of initiatives to encourage such studies.

The UGC's proposed skill-based courses and micro-credentials allow Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to offer programmes from a diverse range of fields. A suggested list of areas has been provided, with the primary aim of this initiative being to reflect the growing importance of cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary knowledge, as well as emerging technologies, in shaping the future workforce. In the domains of humanities and social sciences, these skills ensure that the curriculum in HEIs reflects the critical, analytical, and contextual knowledge required in these fields.

Furthermore, the initiative emphasises the inclusion of employability skills, soft skills and life skills, including elements of the Indian Knowledge System and ethos, promoting a holistic approach to education.

The UGC hopes that by incorporating the suggested skills into their curricula, higher education institutions can significantly enhance the graduates’ employability and overall preparedness for life.

Additionally, the new skill-based guidelines allow HEIs to offer courses and micro-credentials in areas identified through skill gap studies conducted by the Union government or State governments, as well as reports from local bodies, corporate entities, and industry organisations such as CII, FII, and NASSCOM, among others. These approaches represent distinct methods of integrating knowledge from multiple disciplines, each, with its unique characteristics and objectives.

On the other hand, the suggested courses for students of science and technology find a smooth road map with more or less the new initiatives fall within the STEM eco-system of courses, encompassing academic disciplines in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

Contrary to this, the situation of students of humanities and social sciences poses complex issues when it comes to their freedom to pursue inter-disciplinary, multi-disciplinary and transdisciplinary studies.

Take for example, long mustard seeds which are rich in fatty acids like zinc, iron, protein, and dietary fibre, and rich in calcium and manganese are used in kitchens. In Telangana villages, for hundreds of years, women have been using the seeds of ‘Chilaka Mukkithhula Chettu’ as mustard seeds.

Similarly, in tribal Tandas (hamlets) across Telangana people have been using several varieties known in their local dialect as 'KonajajerBarji', and it is used as a leafy vegetable in their dietary cuisine.

The usage of ‘Puljeru Mokka’ sticks like neem ones for brushing teeth and out of about 450 odd leafy vegetables, around 100 have been documented, with their usages. The history of the native knowledge and their health benefits have to be systematically recorded and assessed by HEIs like the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad. Then why can't this be a credit course for the undergraduate students of history, to come up with native knowledge systems and their practices? How the economic implications of these resources cannot be a credit course for the students of economics, to figure out and policy input to the governments on how encouraging their cultivation broadens the scale of availability of leafy vegetables that would help in reducing 'plate burden' and provide availability of nutrition needed for people.

Speaking to The Hans India, a senior professor from Sri Konda Laxman Horticultural University said, "When students from other branches wanted to pursue such courses seeking admission in a horticulture university or some other universities dealing with main or alleged subject areas of the domains like nutrition, health and the like, may need approval from the UGC or Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR), AYUSH or Medical Council of India (MCI). There is no clarity so far on how to evolve such an inter-disciplinary, multi-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary eco-system of studies and research."