The University Grants Commission (UGC) has released a notification regarding the inclusion of NCC as an elective subject in Indian universities. The Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have been directed to take appropriate measures for including the subject in the curriculum.
The Director General of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) has pointed out that it is necessary for HEIs to have affiliation with NCC troops in order to offer NCC as an elective subject.
The notification also added that NCC as an elective subject can only be offered to students who are enrolled as NCC Cadets.
The government has allowed students to take up NCC as an elective subject in colleges since 2021. The move aims to benefit cadets, including those from the border areas where additional cadet strength has been authorised as part of the overall Border Areas Expansion Plan and help the youth to contribute towards nation building.
The UGC had issued necessary guidelines to vice-chancellors of all universities on 15 April. The subject has to be considered a General Elective Credit Course (GECC) in response to the proposal mooted by the Directorate General National Cadet Corps, New Delhi.
NCC syllabus for B and C certificates has been designed as per the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) of National Education Policy 2020 which grants 24 credit points covering six semesters. The move is in line with the National Education Policy 2020 where students can select their choices of subjects rather than being confined to only those being offered by the institutions.