THE University Grants Commission (UGC) will introduce grading and semester system in the colleges under the 11th Plan period. With more funds set aside for universities and higher education, the UGC is keen on introducing academic reforms.

“The commission has written to all the universities to introduce academic reforms like the introduction of the semester and grading system, internal assessment of teachers and increasing the intake of MPhil and PhD students,” said Sukhdeo Thorat, the chairman of UGC.

He was speaking at a special convocation of the Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University on Friday.

The convocation awarded PG diploma to 170 students in agri-based bio technology and honoured author Sankari Prasad Basu with DLitt (Honoris Causa) for his writings on Swami Vivekananda, Sister Nivedita and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Vivek Disha, a project by ISRO, was also inaugurated at the university on Friday.

The project will connect 14 villages — nine in West Bengal and five in Jharkhand — with facilities like telemedicine and tele-education. The facility would help the villagers to directly interact with urban doctors.