Dissent against the controversial draft University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations that has proposed changes to centralise university administration and diminish state governments' role in higher education governance is growing, especially among south Indian states. The main contention is that the new rules undermine the state government’s role in running state universities, particularly the appointment of Vice-Chancellors. So far, the governments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka have opposed the regulations. They have also called on more non-Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states to join them.
The draft UGC regulations, 2025 released on January 6 propose revised selection methods for appointments and promotions to various teaching and administrative posts in universities and colleges.
The new selection process for Vice-Chancellors gives Chancellors more powers. Chancellors of most state universities are usually the state Governors, who are appointed by the Union government. State governments including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal have crossed swords with Governors in the recent past over the issue of Vice-Chancellor appointments.
Besides, the new regulations also allow candidates without an academic background to be appointed as Vice-Chancellors – another point that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has objected to.
What exactly do the UGC draft regulations say
The draft 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 were released by Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan on January 6.
The regulations currently in force were issued in July 2018.
Vice-Chancellor appointment
As per the 2018 regulations, a minimum of ten years’ experience as a University Professor or “in a reputed research and/or academic administrative organisation with proof of having demonstrated academic leadership” is mandatory to be appointed as Vice-Chancellor.
The 2025 draft regulations proposes to dilute this, stating – someone with ten years of experience “at a senior level in industry, public administration, public policy and/or public sector undertakings, with a proven track record of significant academic or scholarly contributions”, is also eligible to be appointed as Vice-Chancellor. This opens up doors for individuals from the private sector with no academic background, and is being criticised as it could pave the way for appointment of people preferred by the Union government.
When it comes to the selection process itself, as per the 2018 regulations, a search-cum-selection committee with three to five members is supposed to shortlist candidates for the Vice-Chancellor’s post.
The Visitor or Chancellor of the university gets to appoint the Vice-Chancellor out of the names recommended by this committee.
This existing method has already led to conflict in multiple states, often warranting the intervention of courts and delaying appointments.
States like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Karnataka, and Punjab had tried to bring in legislation to amend the state University Laws, to remove the Governor as the Chancellor of universities. But they have been delayed or stalled, awaiting assent from the Governor or the President.
Incidentally, Gujarat did manage to pass a similar law, first introduced in 2013 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the state’s Chief Minister. It was first opposed by then Governor, senior Congress leader Kamla Beniwal, but was later cleared in 2015 with approval from Governor OP Kohli, a BJP leader.
The 2025 draft regulations give an even bigger role to the Chancellor in selecting the Vice-Chancellor.
The 2018 regulations state that members of the search-cum-selection committee shall be persons of eminence in higher education, with no relation to the University concerned or its colleges. These committees, usually constituted by the state government, are required to have one member nominated by the UGC Chairman.
But as per the 2025 draft regulations, the Chancellor (or Governor) gets to constitute the three-member committee. The committee’s chairperson will be nominated by the Chancellor, one member will be nominated by the UGC Chairman, and another by the university management – excluding the state government from the process.
Qualifications for teaching posts
The 2025 draft regulations allow candidates to pursue teaching careers in subjects that they qualify for through entrance examinations such as the National Eligibility Test (UGC–NET), even if it is not the subject in which they earned their previous degrees or PhDs.
For appointment as Assistant Professor, candidates can simply clear the national or state entrance test in that subject even if their undergraduate or postgraduate degrees are in different, unrelated disciplines.
For appointment as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor, the candidate can have a PhD in that subject but undergraduate or postgraduate degrees could be in a different discipline.
The UGC gave 30 days for the public and stakeholders to give feedback on the draft.
Why and how state governments are objecting
Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were among the first states to oppose the UGC draft regulations. On January 9, the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a resolution against it, urging the Union government to withdraw them. The resolution was also supported by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
CM Stalin said that the draft was against federalism as it encroaches on the rights of the states, while allowing the Union government to control universities built with state government resources. “Education should be with the state government elected by the people,” Stalin said.
He also criticised the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, while criticising the Union government’s education policies. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had congratulated UGC for formulating the regulations “in sync with the ethos of NEP 2020”, while releasing the draft. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala have all rejected NEP 2020 for a myriad of reasons, insisting that the Union government cannot unilaterally formulate policy on education, insisting that it should ideally be a state subject.
Education was moved from the State List to the Concurrent List of the Constitution in 1976, which means both Union and state governments hold power to make laws and policies related to education. Tamil Nadu has been demanding that education be moved back to the State List, giving state governments exclusive powers.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah too opposed the draft, calling it a “betrayal” of Kannadigas. Weeks earlier, the Karnataka Assembly had passed the Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj University (Amendment) Bill 2024, removing the Governor as Chancellor and replacing him with the CM.
The issue resurfaced on January 20, with CM Stalin raising objections yet again to the ongoing issue over Vice-Chancellor appointments, as well as certain problems with the draft UGC (Minimum Standards of Instruction for the Grant of Undergraduate Degree and Postgraduate Degree) Regulations, 2024. He opposed entrance exams for undergraduate and postgraduate admissions, making non-enginering graduates eligible for M Tech and M E degrees, and the multiple entry and multiple exit (MEME) system where students can opt in and out of degree courses at any stage.
Calling on the the Union Education Ministry to withdraw the draft, CM Stalin also wrote to his counterparts in several non-BJP-ruled states — Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Telangana, West Bengal – urging them to also adopt a resolution against the draft in their Assemblies. He said that the draft posed “serious challenges to the academic integrity” of state universities.
The next day, on January 21, the Kerala Assembly adopted a similar resolution, urging the Union government to withdraw the draft and issue fresh regulations after consulting state governments and other stakeholders.
The resolution, moved by CM Pinarayi Vijayan, said that the draft was against the spirit of the Constitution, and an “an attempt to bring higher education into the clutches of those who propagate religious and communal ideas.”
More recently, the NDA’s key ally, Janata Dal (United) too, has questioned the draft. JD(U) national spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad told various media outlets that though he had not read the draft entirely, based on media reports, there were concerns about limiting the state government’s role in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors. He said that the draft might need to be amended.
Now, the Karnataka government has decided to mobilise various state governments at the national level against the UGC draft regulations. Karnataka Higher Education Minister MC Sudhakar told Deccan Herald that the Siddaramaiah government plans to organise a national conclave of Higher Education Ministers of all states on February 5. He said that the conclave will provide a platform to discuss the draft regulations.