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From calling it a move that “goes against the federal structure” of governance in the country to an “attempt by the Centre to exercise greater control on state universities”, several former V-Cs News18 spoke to objected to the provisions of the proposed regulations
Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan released the UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment & Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2025, on January 7. (PTI)
It is not just Opposition-ruled states but even former vice-chancellors (V-Cs) who are not in favour of the changes proposed in the appointment for the top post in the draft regulations brought out by the University Grants Commission (UGC) last week.
From calling it a move that “goes against the federal structure” of governance in the country to an “attempt by the Centre to exercise greater control on state universities”, several former V-Cs News18 spoke to objected to the provisions of the proposed regulations.
The major bone of contention that has not gone down well with those in the university system, in particular in state-run institutions, is the proposition to give the chancellor — who in most cases is the governor of the state appointed by the central government, and to be more specific, by the President of India — a bigger say in the selection of the vice-chancellor.
Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan released the UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment & Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2025, on January 7, which have been put out in the public domain for getting stakeholders’ feedback. The draft regulations, the minister said, were reforms that will infuse “innovation, flexibility in all aspects of higher education and strengthen academic standards”.
The draft also makes it clear that all universities must implement the rules within six months of these being notified.
The draft rules also proposed direct appointment of industry experts or experienced professionals as V-Cs, as additional criterion, which many academics said was a move aimed at “privatisation”.
Another was the “imposition” of the provisions of the new National Education Policy (NEP) that was launched by the NDA government in 2020. The policy was opposed by non-NDA states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal.
The draft rules that are in line with NEP have been brought about even as Kerala and Tamil Nadu are in the process of coming out with their respective education policies.
‘Hits autonomy of universities’
Gopinath Ravindran, former V-C of Kannur University, Kerala, and part of the history department of Jamia Milia Islamia (JMI), said currently, state universities are majorly funded (85%-90%) by the respective state governments. “In such a situation, when the chancellor has the final say in the selection of the vice-chancellor, it is bound to create issues since the major financier, which is the state, will not have a say in the selection of the V-C,” he said.
He added that if the chancellor — a political appointee — is given greater power to select the V-C, it adversely affects the autonomy of the state universities.
“On one hand, UGC has been advocating for more autonomy for universities while at the same time they bring about new regulations that hit the very core of what is being advocated. The UGC is an autonomous body under the Union government. The proposed changes are a clear attempt on the part of the ruling government to exercise greater control through the governor on state universities,” said Ravindran.
TN, Karnataka Pass Bills To Replace Governor As Chancellor
Ravindran added that in some states, the chief minister is the chancellor. For example, the Kerala assembly, in 2023, passed a Bill to remove the Governor as the ex-officio chancellor of 14 universities in the state, replacing him with eminent educationists. The Bill, however, is yet to receive the assent of the President.
The CPI(M) government in Kerala came up with the move after encountering recurring issues with Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on administration and appointments at these universities.
In November 2024, the Karnataka government passed a Bill in the state assembly to replace the Governor with the chief minister as chancellor of state universities. The Bill is yet to receive the President’s assent. The state government is also working on a draft bill to amend the Karnataka State Universities Act to bring in administrative reforms for universities under it.
Also, on opening the post for industry experts or private people from non-academic backgrounds, Ravindran said the move can “affect appointments across the board”.
“It is a move towards privatisation. If a person from outside the industry is appointed the V-C, they will have their own interests in appointing faculty, who may or may not have the same academic rigour,” he said.
‘Goes against federal structure’
S Japhet, former V-C of Bengaluru Central University (BCU), who is currently a faculty at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) and a member of the Karnataka State Education Policy Commission, said the proposed regulations “go against the very federal structure of governance”.
Education is a subject in the concurrent list, which allows both states and Centre to play a role in building the sector.
“Since 2014, the UGC, which would previously come out with guidelines or a framework allowing states to evolve their own strategy around it, has been coming out with regulations that are binding on them. Governors are political appointees and their having a greater role in selection of V-Cs will create unnecessary conflict and chaos in the functioning of the universities,” said Japhet.
He added that he is also not in favour of having the chief minister as the chancellor, which the state government has proposed. Instead, there should be an independent body of experts on the lines of IIMs and IITs, which can minimise political interference.
“The draft regulations have been introduced without any dialogue or discussion with the states just like in the case of NEP, which was not debated in Parliament before being launched as a policy. State universities have a major role to play in students’ higher education and they should be allowed to have a free hand in running it,” he said.
Also, on having an industry person as the V-C, Japhet said that “in principle”, he is in favour of opening it out to a wider pool of people with expertise, but the provision needs to be debated well and taken up with the states.
‘Rules focused on NEP, FYUP’
The draft regulations state that these are aligned with the “objectives of the National Education Policy, 2020″.
A former UGC chairperson, who requested not to be named, said the draft rules are focused around asserting the provisions of the NEP, including the four-year undergraduate degree where they have given a choice between a four-year UG degree with 75 per cent aggregate plus a PhD and the current Master’s degree with 55 per cent aggregate plus a PhD for some faculty positions.
For those pursuing four-year degree courses, Masters is only for a year, compared to those in the annual mode who go for Masters, which is a two-year programme.
“The draft rules have also made an important change in line with NEP, which is giving some weightage to those familiar or having studied the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) for faculty recruitment for some courses. The new regulations are a clear assertion of NEP that some states have been opposed to,” he said.
