NEW DELHI : With cities struggling to contain the spread of the coronavirus, higher education authorities are looking to learn from villages and India’s past.The University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked all colleges and universities to conduct research on how villages and rural areas have managed the covid-19 crisis and the social-economic challenges faced by them over the past few months.It wants universities to find out what measures India took to restart its economy after the devastating 1918 pandemic, according to an official directive sent to all educational institutions and a person familiar with the development.“We require greater cooperation, understanding and adaptability to the situation.