Thiruvananthapuram: In a strong show of unity, six opposition-ruled states including Kerala, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Punjab, and Jharkhand came together to protest against the Centre's University Grants Commission (UGC) draft amendment rules, citing that it threatens the autonomy of state universities. Ministers and education officials representing these states joined the National Education Convention, held in Kerala’s Legislative Assembly on Thursday, to raise voice against the alleged encroachment on the autonomy of states and universities.
The convention, inaugurated by Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, began at 10:30 AM at the Shankaranarayanan Thampi Hall in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. In his inaugural speech, Vijayan said that the draft UGC regulations of 2025 not only diminish the role of state governments in higher education but also effectively sideline them.
The CM stated that under the draft regulations, states have no role in the appointment of vice-chancellors (VCs) and assistant professors in state-established universities. This move is undemocratic and excessive, he criticised.
The chief minister said that transferring these powers to Chancellors, who are the Governors appointed by the Centre, opens door for political interference and politically-motivated selections that could harm the functioning of the higher education sector. He claimed that 'gubernatorial excesses' were being experienced by many opposition-ruled states, including Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Kerala.
Vijayan said that Governors, as Chancellors, have made political interferences in universities in the states and the same is expected to increase under the draft regulations. The chief minister also highlighted his government's experience with former Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and how he had declined assent to various bills related to the administration of universities in the state, eventually forcing the state government to approach the Supreme Court.
Vijayan mentioned the draft regulations also carried 'new and arbitrary criteria for promotion of academic staff', and were not an isolated incident in terms of the Union government infringing upon the states' rights.
The CM further raised the issue of the Centre allegedly eating into the states' financial resources, alleging that share of Union allocation for their own schemes was coming down year-after-year, with the state governments having to chip in more-and-more. He also alleged that the Union government will go to any extent to usurp the rights of the states.
Kerala Higher Education Minister R Bindu, and Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka also voiced a similar opinion. Bindu said the draft regulations were not only an incursion into the constitutional provisions, but would 'dilute' the academic quality in the state universities. She said that the regulations carried 'potential dangers' to the freedom and autonomy of the states in higher education.
"It is an attempt to undermine democratic values in the field of higher education and relegate it into the clutches of those spreading regressive ideas," she contended, while urging the Centre and the UGC to withdraw the draft regulations.
Speaking at the convention, Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka argued that higher education cannot be controlled remotely from Delhi. He criticised the Centre’s move to exclude states from managing their universities while expecting them to bear financial responsibilities.
"It is akin to saying - you pay the bill, but you cannot order the food," Vikramarka remarked. He further stated that Telangana would host a similar national education convention in Hyderabad.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Kerala government has opposed the UGC draft regulations from the outset. Earlier, Vijayan described it as part of the 'Sangh Parivar agenda to consolidate power and subvert state autonomy'.
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, were released in the first week of January. According to the Union Education Ministry, the draft guidelines aim to provide universities with greater flexibility in appointing and promoting teachers and academic staff.
