UGC Urges Universities to Integrate Electoral Literacy into Curricula

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has urged universities and colleges across the country to incorporate electoral literacy into their curricular framework under the SVEEP programme. In a letter addressed to Vice Chancellors of all Universities and principals of all colleges, the UGC informed them of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Union Ministry of Education and the Election Commission of India (ECI) on November 2, 2023.

The MoU aims to formally integrate voter education and electoral literacy into the education system of universities and colleges, preparing future voters for active participation in elections.

Under the MoU, the UGC outlined a series of activities to be undertaken by higher education institutions. These activities include integrating voter education into the curricular framework, training teachers to impart electoral literacy, conducting co-curricular activities for voter awareness, mobilization campaigns, and participatory activities in schools and colleges.

Additionally, the institutions are encouraged to organize mock polls, administer pledges to vote by students, and demonstrate Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) devices.

Furthermore, the UGC has asked higher education institutions to develop an institutional framework for using anonymized and aggregated databases to facilitate online voter registration for eligible and prospective students. The goal is to fulfill the aspirational goal of the ECI to provide a Voter ID card to every student immediately upon reaching the age of 18.