UGC’s New Draft Regulations: Key Changes You Need to Know

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has proposed significant changes to the appointment process for Vice-Chancellors (V-Cs) and academic staff in universities and colleges. The draft regulations, released on Monday, grant broader powers to Governors—who typically serve as Chancellors of state universities—in appointing V-Cs, and open the role to industry leaders and public sector veterans, diverging from the traditional practice of selecting only academicians.

Broader Powers for Governors in Vice-Chancellor Selection

The new rules allow the Chancellor or Visitor to constitute a three-member Search-cum-Selection Committee for identifying V-C candidates, explicitly granting Governors in opposition-ruled states such as Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Kerala more control over appointments. This move is expected to intensify existing tensions between state governments and Governors over university governance.

A senior government official cited Supreme Court judgments to affirm that UGC regulations are binding on state universities. Institutions failing to implement these rules could face penalties, including exclusion from UGC schemes or being barred from offering degree programs.

New Eligibility Criteria for Vice-Chancellors

The draft regulations expand eligibility for V-C positions to include individuals with senior-level experience in:

• Industry
• Public policy
• Public administration
• Public sector undertakings

This represents a departure from the 2018 guidelines, which mandated that V-Cs be distinguished academicians with at least ten years of experience as professors or in reputed research or academic administrative roles.

The revised criteria state that a V-C candidate must be a “distinguished person possessing high academic qualifications and demonstrated administrative and leadership capabilities,” with a proven track record of significant scholarly contributions.

Elimination of Academic Performance Indicators (API)

The draft regulations replace the API system, which quantified academic performance using metrics such as journal publication counts, with a qualitative approach. UGC Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar explained that the API system reduced academic evaluations to numerical scores. Instead, candidates will now be assessed based on "notable contributions" across nine categories, including:

• Teaching in Indian languages
• Research in Indian Knowledge Systems
• Innovative teaching methods
• Research or teaching lab development
• Consultancy and sponsored research projects
• Community engagement
• Startup initiatives registered with the Registrar of Companies

Subject experts in the selection committee will transparently evaluate these contributions.

Flexibility in Faculty Appointments

The new guidelines also remove the 10% cap on contract-based faculty appointments, introduced in 2018. This change is aimed at addressing the faculty shortages faced by many state universities. UGC officials expressed hope that once vacancies are filled, reliance on contract appointments will decrease.

Further, candidates with different undergraduate/postgraduate and PhD subjects, or those with qualifying exams (e.g., NET, SET) in a subject different from their academic degrees, will now be eligible for faculty positions. This provision aligns with the multidisciplinary vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Potential Implications

Experts believe the changes will foster collaboration between academia, industry, and public administration, enhancing the leadership and innovation capacities of universities. However, the revised powers for Governors are likely to spark political debates, particularly in states where governance of higher education is a contentious issue.

Feedback and Finalization

It may be mentioned that the draft regulations, titled 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, will be finalized after incorporating public feedback.

This overhaul reflects UGC’s commitment to evolving academic leadership and recruitment processes, in line with the NEP 2020, to meet the demands of a rapidly changing education landscape.

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