Last Update: March 22, 2023, 4:22 PM IST
UGC came up with this decision after it was brought to notice by ICMR (Representational Image)
In a letter to Vice Chancellors of all universities and Principals of all HEIs, UGC Secretary Professor Manish Joshi has asked them to consider including a chapter on inherited blood or SCD in both schools and institutions.
University Grants Commission (UGC)) has asked Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) to include a chapter on sickle cell disorder (SCD) in their curriculum to create awareness and prevention. Professor Manish Joshi, Secretary, UGC, in a letter to Vice-Chancellors of all universities and Principals of all HEIs, has asked them to consider including a chapter on inherited blood or SCD in both schools and institutions. The chapters will cover its causes, treatment, inheritance patterns and methods of testing as well as prevention as part of the curriculum.
The commission has taken this decision after it was brought to the notice of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). An official notice reads, “It is given to understand that SCD is a recessive gene disorder resulting in severe, lifelong anemia with potentially life-threatening co-morbidities and mortality.” Further in the notification, the UGC has informed that India has the second highest number of sickle cell disease cases in the world, with an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 children born with the disorder every year.
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According to the commission the symptoms of SCD can be effectively controlled with adequate awareness, counseling and specific therapy. Earlier, it was proposed that awareness of sickle cell disorders at various community levels such as school and higher education institutions through a well designed educational program could be helpful.
What is sickle cell disorder?
It is a major public health problem in India which needs awareness and prevention. Sickle cell disorder is a lifelong disease and the only curative option for it is bone marrow transplant. But the signs or symptoms can be effectively managed with adequate awareness, counseling and specific therapy.
The notice states that the recessive gene disorder has been found in states such as Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Arogyadharma Multinational Organization, an NGO in Maharashtra’s Kurkheda district, has sought UGC’s nod to include sickle cell in the biology syllabus of class 10 students. He hopes that it should be included as part of the curriculum and the subjects of body, health and disease. The chairman of the NGO said the education department should be involved in informing young people, communities and medical practitioners about the nature of the disease.
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