UGC issues norms for ethics in higher education.

Guidelines call for modesty, harmony

At a time of widespread protests by university students, Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has launched new guidelines for values and ethics in higher education.

In a section on the role of different stakeholders, the guidelines prepared by the University Grants Commission has the following advice for student unions: “Support the administration for right and timely decision [and] raise legitimate issues in dignified manner.”

This comes at a time when the involvement of students in political issues has come under scrutiny. Last week, Home Minister Amit Shah said the students driving the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act have been misled, and if students resort to violence, police will be forced to take action against them.

The guidelines, launched on Thursday, also call for students to “observe modesty in their overall appearance and behaviour”, “maintain good health and refrain from any kind of intoxicants” and “maintain harmony among students belonging to different socio-economic status, community, caste, religion or region”. (Source: The Hindu)