25 Universities & 18 Colleges offering Master Degree in Yoga: AISHE

Union Minister, Shri Shripad Naik, updated the Lok Sabha on the position of development of teaching of YOGA in the country. These include various pointers from the UGC as well as All India Survey of Higher Education.

As informed by the University Grants Commission (UGC), there are 25 Universities & 18 Colleges offering Master Degree in Yoga as per All India Survey of Higher Education(AISHE) provisional report 2014-15). UGC has notified Regulation, 2010 on Teacher’s appointment which specify the rules for appointment of Associate Professor, Assistant Professor and Professor.

The following two Yoga Universities are in UGC list:

(i) Lokulish Yoga University, Ahmedabad

(ii) Swami Vivekanand Yoga Anusandhan Sansthan(Deemed to be University), Bangalore.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development has informed that a Committee has been constituted by the Government on Yoga education in universities under the chairpersonship of Prof. H. R. Nagendra, Chancellor, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana, Samsthana, Bengaluru. The Terms of Reference(TOR) for the committee included prescribing qualification of faculty of Yoga in Colleges and Universities and also to examine whether the existing qualifications for recruitment of the faculty in the Colleges and Universities as presently approved by the University Grants Commission(UGC), will need amendments.

The Committee in its report has recommended as follows:

I. Appointment of a sub-committee to finalise the NET syllabus.

II. Implementation of seven programmes in universities viz. (i) Certificate Course in Yoga (CCY) of 6 to 12 months duration; (ii) Bachelor of Science (Yoga)- BSc. (Yoga) of 3 to 6 years; (iii) Post Graduate Diploma in Yoga (PGDY) of 1 to 2 years; (iv) Post Graduate Diploma in Yoga Therapy (PGDYT) of 1 to 2 years; (v) Masters of Science (MSc.) – Yoga of 2 years to 4 years; (vi) Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) -Yoga of 3 years to 5 years; and (vii) Doctor of Philosophy (Integrated) – Yoga of 4 to 6 years. The committee has also prescribed the qualifications for faculty of yoga. The committee has made other recommendations for promotion of yoga in universities. The recommendations of the committee are being examined.

Apart from this, the Centre has asked the state governments to introduce yoga as part of the school curriculum so that willing students can take it as a subject. However, it is not a compulsory subject, the government said.

Minister of state for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik said in Lok Sabha the letter to the states favouring adoption of yoga as part of the school syllabus was sent by the HRD ministry so that those students who wished to enrol themselves could take it, though it will not be a compulsory subject. "We hope that yoga will be part of the school curriculum from the next academic session," he said.

Naik said the government has succeeded in adoption of June 21 as the International Day of Yoga.