New UGC regulations may create rubber-stamp VCs, conflict with states: JNU professor

By Brajesh Kumar Tiwari

The University Grants Commission’s draft regulation on recruitment of academic staff in universities and colleges comes against the backdrop of tension between state governments and Raj Bhavans over the appointment of vice-chancellors and through that, the control of state universities.

The draft UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment and 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 the union education minister and UGC chairman earlier this month.

Among a host of other changes, the draft UGC regulations propose two key reforms in VC appointments. One significantly expands the centre’s role in state-funded and governed higher education. The second proposes opening up the critical VC post to non-academics from industry, bureaucracy, and public-sector undertakings.

The first might throw already-embattled state institutions into further conflict; the second might inject some innovation into the system but will likely do more harm than good in the long run.

UGC Regulations: State vs. centre

For the past two decades, state governments have been looking for vice-chancellors in universities who are accountable to them and receptive to their influence.

At the same time, the central government, through governors, has been looking for people who match their ideology to lead state institutions. Both the state government and central government want to assert their dominance over university spaces.

The field of education occupies an important place in the Concurrent List of the Constitution, enabling both the centre and the states to enact laws and implement decisions on education. That said, the matter of education has always been viewed through the lens of politics.

In contemporary society, universities have become arenas for political battles when they should have been beyond any specific 'state' or 'party', as the temples of education lay the foundation of nation-building.

The involvement of governors in higher education has led to a number of controversies in recent years in West Bengal, Kerala, Maharashtra and Odisha. Currently, a large number of universities find themselves embroiled in conflicts between governors and state governments.

The recent provision signals a substantial increase in the responsibilities of governors with regard to the appointment of vice-chancellors.

The potential reduction in the powers of state education ministries has raised concerns among state governments as they will no longer be represented in these selections.

Previously, as per UGC regulations 2018, the state government would submit a list of three candidates to the governor, who would then select one to serve as his representative. Now the entire selection system will be through the governors and the UGC. In such a situation, the minimal involvement of state governments in the appointment of vice-chancellors is likely to increase conflicts, especially considering that a large number of state universities depend on state funding.

UGC Regulations 2025: Only academics for VC

Innovation, inclusiveness, community engagement and institution-building all have their place but a university must be headed by an academic.

Placing multifaceted venture capitalists and senior government officials (IAS) in the VC position may boost innovation to some extent but it will do more harm than good to higher education.

In fact, the decline in education in the country began when the education world handed over policy making to the bureaucracy and politicians who lack an academic approach to the issue.

We know that the regime discourages independent scholars by promoting a system of persuasion.

Can a company or corporation appoint a senior professor directly to the CEO position or into upper management? Not at all. It is equally inappropriate to appoint an industrialist as vice-chancellor.

Universities and educational institutions are places where human character is developed, not where machines are produced.

Obviously administrative functions can be performed effectively by an IAS officer or a corporate CEO. This does not mean that an IAS officer or a corporate CEO should be appointed as a chief medical officer (CMO).

A person lacking academic and research knowledge will perform the functions commensurate with his background and experience. This will also disappoint academics, as they will believe that regardless of the quality of their scholarly and research contributions, they will not be given priority for the post of vice-chancellor.

The UGC and the ministry of education ought to look into the methods used by the world's best universities to choose their vice chancellors.

Professors, subject-matter specialists, and students are frequently consulted, in addition to a committee consisting of two or three people, when choosing academic leaders.

Strict appointment procedures going above party politics must be established because the more independent a candidate is, the more capable they will be as an academic leader, rather than just a rubber-stamp.

Even if the goal is to boost competition in the educational sector, the UGC must first confer with state governments and interested parties before proposing major changes to current laws.

Brajesh Kumar Tiwari is an associate professor in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee School of Management & Entrepreneurship (ABVSME), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)