In which year did the Supreme court direct to include environmental education in the curriculum right from the school stage to the university level?

Option 1 : 1991

The correct answer is 1991.

• In the year 1991 the Supreme court direct to include environmental education in the curriculum right from the school stage to the university level.
• The University Grants Commission (UGC) has recently instructed its affiliated universities and colleges to introduce a compulsory six-module course on Environmental Studies at all branches of an undergraduate degree.
• The module, however, has been existent since 2013, and the new directive to implement it is a part of a routine task by UGC to remind universities or colleges who either have not implemented the instruction or are not aware of the same, says a senior UGC officer, while talking to Education Times.
• The decision to create a six-module course on Environmental Studies was taken by the Supreme Court in 1991 after a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by an advocate, MC Mehta. According to the court order, UGC had to prescribe a course on the environment as a mandatory subject in colleges.

• As per the orders of the Honorable Supreme court, the subject of Environmental Studies was introduced as a compulsory subject in 2003 at the undergraduate level in all the streams.
• UGC mandated a six-month module syllabus for UG courses.
• In a bid to create awareness among the students regarding the preservation of the environment for future generations, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked educational institutes to introduce Environmental Science (EVS) subject in all the undergraduate courses.
• Earlier, as per the directions of the Supreme Court, the UGC had instructed all the universities to include EVS in one semester, but, in a fresh notification, the commission had asked all the universities to compulsorily include a six-month module syllabus on EVS.
• It was introduced in all the undergraduate courses from the academic year, 2019- 20.
• For this, the UGC has also recommended an elaborate module syllabus with seven theory units and one practical unit, which includes topics like an ecosystem, biodiversity, deforestation, etc.
• Hence the six-module course is aimed at making students ecologically aware of a sustainable future and providing first-hand knowledge on various local environmental aspects.