According to M. Jagadesh Kumar, Chairman of UGC, "Transforming higher education requires collective efforts from all stakeholders, including students. NEP SAARTHI will provide a platform for students to actively contribute and make effective use of the provisions of NEP 2020."
Under this scheme, the UGC urges Vice Chancellors, Directors, and Principals of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) to nominate three outstanding students from their institutions to become NEP SAARTHIs. These students should possess excellent communication skills, organizational capabilities, creativity, a sense of responsibility, and leadership qualities.
NEP SAARTHIs will play a pivotal role in creating awareness about NEP 2020 initiatives on their campuses and motivating their peers to actively participate in their implementation. They will act as ambassadors, disseminating information, initiating dialogues, organizing events, and collecting feedback from students to improve the implementation of NEP 2020.
Objectives:
- To create awareness and promote the initiatives of NEP 2020 among students on campus.
- To encourage and motivate students to actively participate in implementing the NEP 2020 initiatives.
- To establish a feedback mechanism for the UGC to understand the impact of NEP 2020 initiatives on students and address their concerns.
Number of NEP SAARTHI: 300
Nomination Criteria:
- Students who are currently undergoing higher education at various levels can participate in this initiative
- Students pursuing certificate/ diploma/ undergraduate/ postgraduate degree
- The nominated students are expected to have an outstanding personality, possess excellent communication skills, organisational capabilities for conducting outreach programmes, creativity, sense of responsibility along with being a team leader.
Procedure:
- UGC will seek nominations from the Vice Chancellors, Directors, and Principals of HEIs and eminent academicians
- Each university may nominate upto 3 students to be considered as NEP SAARTHI, along with a brief write-up justifying the nominations
- Based on the nominations, UGC will select 300 NEP SAARTHI among the nominees
- UGC will announce the NEP SAARTHIs and communicate to the students
- NEP SAARTHI will be oriented and guided to carry out their roles effectively by the UGC in a hybrid mode.
Timeline for Announcement:
- Inviting Nominations May 2023
- Deadline for receiving Nominations June 2023
- Announcement of NEP SAARTHIs July 2023
- Orientation of NEP SAARTHIs July 2023
Felicitation of the NEP SAARTHI:
- Recognition by UGC as “NEP SAARTHI” and “Certificate of Recognition” to be awarded
- Mention on UGC’s official social media handles
- Invitation to all relevant online events organised by the UGC
- Opportunity to publish an article in UGC Newsletter
Role of NEP SAARTHI:
- Work as an ambassador to promote NEP 2020
- Create awareness regarding NEP 2020
- Disseminate information regarding NEP 2020
- Promote NEP 2020 initiatives on social media
- Collect feedback from students to improve the implementation of NEP 2020
- Provide guidance to students and other stakeholders regarding NEP 2020 initiatives and how they can benefit from them
Responsibilities:
- Organise awareness drives regarding the latest NEP initiatives
- Connect with student groups
- Establish meaningful dialogue among students, faculty members, administrators and the UGC.
- Prepare brief notes on each NEP initiative for display on campus
- Plan events, debates, discussions, competitions, quizzes, Nukkads, Chaupals
- Initiate social media activities or campaigns
- Set up NEP help desks at college fests
By actively engaging students through NEP SAARTHI, the UGC aims to ensure that the transformative vision of NEP 2020 becomes a reality. This scheme will empower students to contribute meaningfully to the development of higher education in India and shape the future of the nation's education system.
