SHILLONG: The University Grant Commission (UGC) has advised the Universities to incorporate textbooks from the Northeast in the University Curriculum.
The Union Human Resource Development Minister, Smriti Irani said t his in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on Thursday She said that UGC has asked the Universities to incorporate novels, and short stories from the North East.
History of North East including personalities who participated in anti-colonial uprisings as well as freedom movement should also be included in curriculum, she said.
The Minister also said that students from the other parts of the country should spend some time in the North East so as to understand and appreciate culture of the area. Besides, regular cultural exchange between institutions in the North East and other areas be built in higher education system in the universities; and the North East Zone Cultural Centre, an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture should organize various programmes under its scheme National Cultural Exchange Programme (NCEP) for awareness about the culture of the North Eastern Region.
Content about various aspects of the North Eastern Region have already been included in the textbooks of Social Sciences such as History, Geography and Political Science published by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) especially history classes-VII,IX,X and XII, Geography classes: VI to XII, and Political Science classes: VI,VIII to XII.
