‘Assault on state rights’, CPI(M) flags UGC draft regulations on appointing VCs; seeks withdrawal

New Delhi: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Wednesday said the University Grants Commission’s draft regulations 2025 contains a provision which is a “direct assault” on state rights on the question of selecting vice-chancellors (VCs) for state-run universities, and demanded that it should be withdrawn.

The new guidelines give the governor, who is also the chancellor of state universities, the power to appoint a committee to select the vice-chancellor, the CPI(M) Politburo said in a statement, claiming that it is happening in the backdrop of governors "arbitrarily" appointing VCs in some “opposition-ruled states".

"The draft UGC regulations 2025 contains a provision which is a direct assault on the rights of states on the question of selecting vice-chancellors in state-run universities," the statement said.

"The guidelines give the governor-cum-chancellor the power to appoint a three-member selection committee in which the chancellor’s nominee will also be the chairperson. This is happening in the backdrop of governors acting arbitrarily in appointing vice-chancellors in some opposition-ruled states," the CPI(M) said.

Claiming that the state government will have no say as to who all will be appointed in the selection committee, the CPI(M) said, "At one stroke, the Centre through these guidelines can appoint vice-chancellors of its choice in all state-run universities through the governor-cum-chancellors." The Left party also said the draft regulations violate the Constitutional position, wherein education is a concurrent subject.

"All democratic sections, including the non-BJP state governments, should unitedly oppose this dangerous provision. It should be withdrawn," they said.

The draft UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment & Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2025, was released on Monday.

The draft guidelines, which have been placed in the public domain for feedback, aim to give flexibility to the universities in appointing and promoting teachers and academic staff in their institutions, according to the Union education ministry.

The regulations grant governors broader control over VC appointments and allows non-academics to hold these posts.

They also propose to amend the norms for hiring faculty members in universities, allowing those with postgraduate degrees in Master of Engineering (ME) or Master of Technology (MTech), with at least 55 per cent marks, to directly get recruited to the assistant professor level without qualifying for the UGC National Eligibility Test (NET).