UGC and CBC join hands for capacity building of UGC staff

Hyderabad: Prof. Mamidala Jagdish Kumar, Chairman University Grants Commission (UGC) launched for the first time the UGC Annual Capacity Building Plan (ACBP) officially in the presence of Dr. R Balasubramanium, Member HR, Capacity Building Commission.

Giving details of the importance of the initiative, Prof Jagdish Kumar said that the Capacity Building Commission (CBC) was established by the Government of India through the Gazette of India on April 1, 2021.

He said that the UGC is the first autonomous organisation to have initiated planning for the capacity building of their employees in collaboration with CBC. The Annual Capacity Building Plan (ACBP) is a comprehensive plan outlining interventions essential for enhancing individual officials' competencies and the overall capacity of UGC and this plan is derived from a robust Capacity Need Assessment exercise that was done with UGC officials and staff over 6 months starting from March 2023.

So far, as part of the capacity building of its staff and officers, more than 600 UGC employees were onboarded on the iGotKarmayogi platform by September 15, 2023. In the first quarter (October to December 2023), 630 UGC employees successfully completed more than 4,500 courses, with each employee completing an average of 7 courses.

That apart, during 2023, UGC has also organised various offline/face-to-face training programs on Reservation in Services, Introduction to Emerging Technologies using AI, Overview of Data-Driven Decision Making (DDDM) using Higher Education data and relevant use cases, PFMS Awareness of General Financial Rules, Contract Management and Purchase of Services, RTI etc. for its employees and plans to continue the same to strengthen the capacity of its employees and support the government’s initiative of Mission Karmayogi for Skill enhancement of government employees.

Underscoring the importance of the initiatives Prof Jagadish Kumar said that the UGC doing all this, because "The idea is to build, develop and enhance the abilities, talents, competencies, efficiency and qualifications of UGC employees to increase their capacity to serve the higher educational system in India."

Further, when it comes to the focus areas in which UGC employees will be trained, he said there are four areas focussed as part of the training. They include behavioural competencies, Functional competencies, domain competencies and technology competencies. Behavioural competencies help the UGC staff, can take up bigger roles than what they normally perform. Functional competencies help the UGC staff perform better in administration, procurement and financial management. Enhancing domain competencies helps them perform better in specialized fields such as policy-making or project management. Training in newer technology competencies helps them to realize shorter turnaround time and improve efficiency, better digital record keeping and utilize technology platforms to reach out to the stakeholders.