Obsolete, inadequate, unteachable: UGC’s Math draft draws sharp criticism

Nearly a thousand researchers, teachers, and graduate students in Mathematics have urged the University Grants Commission (UGC) to withdraw its draft undergraduate curriculum for 2025, warning that it is “riddled with grave defects” and could jeopardize the future of generations of students.

In a petition signed by academics across the country, the group demanded that the UGC scrap the draft framework for BSc/BA Mathematics and appoint a new committee of expert mathematicians and undergraduate teachers to redesign it.

The petition highlights several flaws in the draft, including inadequate coverage of core subjects such as real analysis, linear algebra, and algebra.

“Algebra is crammed into one semester, and real analysis is introduced so late that it does not leave room for natural subsequent courses to be offered,” the signatories pointed out.

They also criticized the draft for giving undue importance to outdated courses like Analytical Geometry and Mechanics, which they described as relics of the British system.

Applied mathematics, programming, and numerical methods, they argued, are sidelined, while Statistics has been reduced to a single course.

“In courses on Statistics, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, etc., it is natural and customary to have a practical and application-based component; this opportunity has been squandered,” the petition stated.

Concerns were also raised over elective courses that require knowledge of advanced topics not covered in the basic curriculum.

As an example, the petition cites “Mathematics in Music,” which claims to require only Class-10 Mathematics but includes concepts like Fourier analysis and Markov chains.

Similarly, courses such as Mathematics for Machine Learning attempt to cover fundamental concepts in sets, functions, and vector spaces within unrealistic time limits.

The signatories warned that many proposed interdisciplinary courses would prove unteachable, as mathematics faculty lack expertise in areas like quantum mechanics and students lack the necessary background.

“Mathematics in arts subjects (music, drama, and arts) has similar problems, only more serious as they are farther from the expertise of most mathematics teachers. Yet other courses, such as Mathematics in Meditation, do not belong in a UG Mathematics curriculum,” they argued.

The petition further dismissed the 14 value-added courses, intended under the National Education Policy to prepare students for the modern workforce, calling them poorly designed and limited to high-school-level content.

Another serious flaw, according to the petitioners, is that the draft curriculum fails to prepare graduates for higher studies or industry.

“The inadequacy of the courses is all the more glaring because a student graduating after four years is eligible to write the NET exam and qualify for a PhD,” the statement noted.

Errors in references were also flagged. “In multiple courses, the given references do not exist! For instance, the books of Rudin (Mathematics in Physics), Karlin and Taylor (Mathematical Psychology), Glenn Ledder (Mathematics in Sustainability), Mirabai Starr (Mathematics in Meditation), and Myers and Henson (Mathematical Psychology),” the petitioners said.

Calling for a complete overhaul, the signatories concluded, “A nation with a long tradition of excellence in mathematics deserves a much better undergraduate curriculum. Our purpose in making this petition is identical to the goals of the UGC: giving future generations of Indian students the best education possible.”