Greening the syllabus

environmental studies will now be compulsory for every undergraduate student in Delhi University (DU). The University Grants Commission (UGC) is introducing it as a mandatory six-month foundation course from July 2003. Environmental study courses at the postgraduate level are also being formulated.

It is reported that the DU executive council has passed the proposal to set up a school of environmental studies . UGC chairperson Hari Gautam said, "We have decided to introduce a foundation course on environment for which an expert committee, comprising teachers from the university, has been formed to prepare a module.' The National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) will also help in devising the course. The compulsory core module would comprise health awareness, AIDS, human rights, value education, information technology, women and child welfare and other environment-related issues.