UGC Regulations 2023: Dharmendra Pradhan issues guidelines to enhance quality, transform higher education

NEW DELHI: The union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan has issued the UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2023 today, June 2. The UGC Regulations granting deemed university status have been issued in the presence of Jagadesh Kumar, chairman, UGC and Sanjay Murthy, secretary (higher education), ministry of education.

Releasing the guidelines, Pradhan said that UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2023, will facilitate the creation of more quality-focused deemed to be universities in an objective and transparent manner.

Read More | UGC revises guidelines for deemed universities; key features

The new simplified guidelines, Pradhan added, will encourage universities to focus on quality and excellence, strengthen the research ecosystem and have a long-term impact in transforming the higher education landscape. The minister complimented UGC for this timely reform aligned with the National Education Policy 2020.

UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2023: Key points

The UGC Act 1956, as per an official statement issued in this regard said, provides for central government to declare any institution other than a university to a status of institution deemed to be university as if it were a university within the meaning of Section 2(f). Upon declaration, such institution shall be deemed to be a university.

The procedure for the declaration of status (General) & De Novo, the establishment of off-campus centre, minimum eligibility to acquire the status, its governance, etc. are regulated by UGC Regulations, it added.

The first set of Regulations was notified in the year 2010, which was revised in 2016 and 2019.

With the announcement of the National Education Policy 2020 and in order to make the Regulations simple the UGC constituted an expert committee to review and revise the Regulations.

The draft regulations had passed through several stages in the process of finalisation. The expert committee’s guidance, public feedback, and suggestions of the Commission are all taken into consideration before sending the final draft Regulations to the Ministry of Education for concurrence.

Superseding the UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations 2019, the new Regulations are built on the principle of a “light but tight” regulatory framework envisioned in the National Education Policy 2020, the statement added.

Regulations are aligned with National Education Policy 2020. The objectives of the deemed to be universities, among other things, as per the statement issued, said, include providing higher education leading to excellence in different branches of knowledge, primarily at undergraduate, post-graduate, and research degree levels, fully conforming to the concept of a University, to strengthen the research ecosystem and to contribute for social transformation through socially responsive teaching, learning, research, and fieldwork.

The eligibility criteria to apply for deemed to be university status is NAAC ‘A’ grade with at least a 3.01 CGPA for three consecutive cycles or NBA accreditation for two third of eligible programmes for three consecutive cycles or in the top 50 of any specific category of NIRF for the last three years continuously or in top 100 of overall NIRF Ranking for last three years continuously.