Tamil Nadu opposes draft UGC regulations, to fight legally and politically

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister vows to fight new UGC regulations granting Governors more control over V-C appointments.

A day after the University Grants Commission issued a draft notification of its fresh regulations, which among others revised the selection process for Vice-Chancellors, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said on Tuesday (January 7, 2025) that Tamil Nadu would fight it “legally and politically”.

Education was a subject under the Concurrent List in the Constitution and hence Tamil Nadu considered the move of the UGC to issue this notification unilaterally as “unconstitutional” and a case of “overreach” and so was unacceptable, Mr. Stalin contended in a social media post.

The new UGC regulations granting Governors broader control over V-C appointments and allowing non-academics to hold these posts were “a direct assault on federalism and State rights,” Mr. Stalin charged.

“This authoritarian move by the Union BJP government seeks to centralise power and undermine democratically elected State governments. Education must remain in the hands of those chosen by the people, not dictated by Governors acting at the BJP government’s behest,” Mr. Stalin contended.

Tamil Nadu, which led the nation with the highest number of top-ranking HEIs, “will not stay silent as our institutions are stripped of autonomy,” Mr. Stalin emphasised.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan released the draft University Grants Commission (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment and Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2025 on Monday.

The draft UGC regulations has given the powers to Chancellors or Visitors to constitute the three-member search-cum-selection committee to appoint Vice-Chancellors. The guidelines also warn that non-implementation of it may result into debarring an institution from participating in UGC schemes or from offering degree programmes. The UGC has given 30 days for the stakeholders and public to offer comments on the draft.