Students of colleges and universities across the country will take the pledge to spread the message of 'Swacch Bharat' by February 29 as the government aims to make them "ambassadors of social change".
In a letter to all Vice-Chancellors, UGC has said the Swachh Bharat Mission has entered a very "crucial phase" and requires concerted efforts by all stakeholders to achieve its objectives.
"In this endeavour, the entire student fraternity of India can become our ambassadors of social change," the letter by UGC secretary Jaspal S Sandhu said.
"You are, therefore, requested to kindly conduct mass pledges of students within 29th February, 2016 in your university and affiliated colleges and also encourage the students to take up cleanliness activities to honour their pledges," the letter added.
As per the pledge, students will express commitment to remaining clean and give two hours every week to voluntary work for cleanliness.
They will also take a pledge to propagate the message of Swachh Bharat Mission in cities, villages and towns and also pledge to encourage 100 other persons to take the same vow.
In its statement issued today, HRD ministry said that
teachers were required to allocate six additional hours per week, beyond the direct teaching-learning hours, on research.
These hours can now be also utilized for tutorials, remedial classes, seminars, administrative responsibilities, innovation and updating of course contents.
The criterion for API scores has also been a contentious one, with teachers' bodies raising questions over its provisions.
