Campus Control: Centre and Opposition-ruled States on a warpath over UGC’s draft regulations

“This is nothing but an attempt by the Centre to usurp universities that state governments have built using their own resources and economic strength,” Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said on January 9, moving a resolution in the Assembly against the new draft regulations, which the University Grants Commission (UGC) placed in the public domain for suggestions and consultations three days ago. “This undermines the principle of federalism enshrined in the Constitution,” Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah concurred. These were echoed by Revanth Reddy and Pinarayi Vijayan, chief ministers of Telangana and Kerala, soon. Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal also joined the clamour for the withdrawal of the draft UGC regulations.

Credit: DH Graphic

What Stalin, Siddaramaiah, Reddy and Vijayan are vociferously protesting is the move by the UGC, through the proposed regulations, to effectively give the governors sweeping powers in appointing vice-chancellors to the state-funded universities, limiting the role of the state governments. The commission also proposes to allow people with non-academic backgrounds to be appointed as the VCs – a move, which, according to critics, is aimed at allowing the BJP-led Centre to appoint supporters of its ideology even if they lack necessary academic and administrative experience.

The draft UGC regulations opened yet another front in the conflicts between the Opposition-ruled states and the BJP-led Union Government in the domain of higher education. The confrontations between the elected state governments and the governors over the appointment of the VCs in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and West Bengal have already cast a shadow on the functioning of higher educational institutes.

After DMK-ruled Tamil Nadu, the CPI(M)-led government in Kerala too passed a resolution in the Assembly with Vijayan asserting that the new UGC regulations would undoubtedly give an edge to the Centre in controlling the state universities. The Congress government in Karnataka has convened a meeting of the higher education ministers of Opposition-ruled states in Bengaluru on February 5 to collectively explore options to resist the implementation of the UGC regulations. The state’s Higher Education Minister Dr M C Sudhakar wrote to Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan demanding the withdrawal of the draft regulations. Kerala is also planning a convention against the UGC’s move on February 20.

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy views the rules as part of a larger conspiracy by the Centre to convert states into “mere tax collectors” by grabbing powers vested with them, one by one.

The draft regulations also led to disquiet in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance with the ruling Janata Dal (U) in Bihar saying that the new regulations will impact the state government’s roadmap for higher education. The Andhra Pradesh government led by the BJP’s ally TDP has not yet made its stand public.

Opposition-ruled states believe that the new rules will not just give Governors an “upper hand” in the overall running of universities built with their funding but also provide another opportunity for occupants of the Raj Bhavans to needle them.

The primary complaint of the states is that the Union Government is “snatching” universities that were built with their hard work and financial resources, effectively taking away powers they were originally vested with by the Constitution.

States like West Bengal and Tamil Nadu passed bills to appoint the Chief Minister as the Chancellor in place of the Governor to end the “interference” from Raj Bhavans, but they have not been signed into law.

“If the draft rules come into force, state governments will have no say in the decision-making process of universities, which will lose its autonomy. In short, universities will merely be implementation centres of the directions of UGC,” Chennai-based educationist Prince Gajendra Babu told DH.

Rajan Gurukkal, vice chairman of Kerala State Higher Education Council, said that he could not find any positive aspect in the draft rules by UGC, which he accused of sabotaging the rules of merit set by it in the past.

“There is no justification for the new rules. They clearly encroach on the powers the Constitution granted to states. The draft wants to take away the powers on matters of higher education vested with the state to UGC, which is nothing but a recommendatory body. One should remember that Education is still on the Concurrent List,” Gurukkal told DH. He added that the draft rules were an attempt to “further communalise” higher education by appointing proponents of the BJP-RSS ideology in higher education institutions.

Though Education is on the Concurrent list, states believe the draft rules is an attempt to keep them away from higher education with the Centre taking complete control of universities. “Each university has its own uniqueness, and a university can survive only if it is able to maintain specific academic standards,” Babu said.

Srinivas S Balli, former VC of Nrupathunga University, Bengaluru, opined that a governor holding power over the universities was better than full-time politicians doing so. E Balagurusamy, former VC of Anna University in Chennai, however, told DH that the draft regulations would ensure a fair and transparent approach in the selection of VCs by “eliminating local biases and political interferences”.

However, a former V-C based out of Karnataka batted for CMs to be made chancellors of state-funded universities.

“The chief minister, who administers the state, will have first-hand knowledge of the needs of the people and the financial condition. The state governments who fund the universities should have the right to fix accountability. However, the draft rules are contrary to that," the former V-C added.

He even pointed out that even if the UGC tried to snatch powers of the government, it should realise that the government had more control through syndicate members it had appointed to the syndicate while nominating a representative from the syndicate to the vice chancellor selection panel.

A committee set up by the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal, however, observed that the UGC’s proposal to allow non-academic persons to be appointed as VCs might lead to politicising the posts. It noted that the commission wanted to give disproportionate powers to the Centre, nullifying the role of the state governments.