Integrate electoral literacy in curricular framework, UGC tells universities

livemint.com:

University Grants Commission (UGC) Tuesday asked universities and colleges across the country to integrate voter education and electoral literacy in their curricular framework, and evolve a robust mechanism to fulfil the aspirational goal of the Election Commission of India (ECI) of handing over voter IDs to every eligible student, organise mock polls and administer a pledge to vote by students. The UGC wrote to the Vice Chancellors of all Universities and principals of all colleges across the country informing them that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Ministry of Education and Election Commission on November 2, 2023 to incorporate voter education and electoral literacy formally into the University/ and College education system to prepare future and new voters for greater electoral participation under the SVEEP programme.

“The ECI is implementing its flagship programme called Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) that aims at universal and enlightened participation of all eligible citizens in elections inter alia by addressing urban and youth apathy. Continuous Electoral and Democracy Education (CEDE) is an important component of SVEEP strategy which needs to be formalised and grounded in the school and higher education system in order to motivate future voters for greater electoral participation that would enable them to be responsible citizens who take pride in being a part of our democratic system in an informed manner with a sense of duty and purpose to strengthen our democracy," the UGC circular read.