Global Citizenship Education (GCED) in Indian Higher Education: Prospects and Challenges

  • Unique Paper ID: 209598
  • Volume: 13
  • Issue: 5
  • PageNo: 2724-2733
  • Abstract:
  • Global Citizenship Education (GCED) has gained increasing importance in higher education as societies become more interconnected and face shared challenges related to sustainability, human rights, social justice, cultural diversity, and peace. In India, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasizes holistic and multidisciplinary education, ethical values, constitutional principles, and the development of responsible citizens. It also recognizes the importance of preparing learners to contribute to global well-being while remaining rooted in Indian cultural and intellectual traditions. The present paper examines the prospects and challenges of implementing GCED in Indian higher education through a qualitative, conceptual analysis of policy documents and relevant literature. It explores the potential of GCED to promote critical thinking, intercultural understanding, global awareness, ethical responsibility, sustainability consciousness, and active civic engagement among university students. The paper also identifies challenges associated with curriculum integration, faculty preparedness, educational inequalities, linguistic and cultural diversity, institutional resources, and the tension between global perspectives and local contexts. Drawing on UNESCO's framework and Indian educational policy, the paper proposes strategies for integrating GCED through interdisciplinary curricula, experiential learning, community engagement, international collaboration, and faculty development. It argues that effective GCED should connect global concerns with local realities and Indian constitutional values rather than treating global citizenship as a replacement for national citizenship. The paper concludes that meaningful integration of GCED can contribute to a more inclusive, socially responsible, culturally responsive, and globally connected higher education system in India.

Copyright & License

Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

BibTeX

@article{209598,
        author = {Garima Singh and Dr. Dinesh Kumar},
        title = {Global Citizenship Education (GCED) in Indian Higher Education: Prospects and Challenges},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {13},
        number = {5},
        pages = {2724-2733},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=209598},
        abstract = {Global Citizenship Education (GCED) has gained increasing importance in higher education as societies become more interconnected and face shared challenges related to sustainability, human rights, social justice, cultural diversity, and peace. In India, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasizes holistic and multidisciplinary education, ethical values, constitutional principles, and the development of responsible citizens. It also recognizes the importance of preparing learners to contribute to global well-being while remaining rooted in Indian cultural and intellectual traditions. The present paper examines the prospects and challenges of implementing GCED in Indian higher education through a qualitative, conceptual analysis of policy documents and relevant literature. It explores the potential of GCED to promote critical thinking, intercultural understanding, global awareness, ethical responsibility, sustainability consciousness, and active civic engagement among university students. The paper also identifies challenges associated with curriculum integration, faculty preparedness, educational inequalities, linguistic and cultural diversity, institutional resources, and the tension between global perspectives and local contexts. Drawing on UNESCO's framework and Indian educational policy, the paper proposes strategies for integrating GCED through interdisciplinary curricula, experiential learning, community engagement, international collaboration, and faculty development. It argues that effective GCED should connect global concerns with local realities and Indian constitutional values rather than treating global citizenship as a replacement for national citizenship. The paper concludes that meaningful integration of GCED can contribute to a more inclusive, socially responsible, culturally responsive, and globally connected higher education system in India.},
        keywords = {Global Citizenship Education, Indian higher education, NEP 2020, global citizenship, sustainability, intercultural competence, higher education policy},
        month = {October},
        }

Cite This Article

Singh, G., & Kumar, D. D. (2026). Global Citizenship Education (GCED) in Indian Higher Education: Prospects and Challenges. International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology (IJIRT), 13(5), 2724–2733.

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