6 opposition-ruled states demand roll back of UGC draft rules

Ministers from six opposition-ruled states on Wednesday passed a resolution rejecting the draft UGC regulations introduced by Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan in January, and arguing that the proposed rules undermine the autonomy of state governments.The resolution came at the end of a conclave organized by the Karnataka government saw participation of Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. Speaking at the conclave, Shivakumar called on states to also build pressure on the Centre and the University Grants Commission to withdraw the “flawed” National Education Policy (NEP).State Education Ministers of Kerala (R Bindu), Tamil Nadu (Govi Cheziaan) and Himachal Pradesh (Rohit Thakur) participated in the conclave. Telangana was represented by IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu and Jharkhand by MLA Sudivya Kumar.
In the joint resolution, the ministers raised multiple objections to the draft regulations and contended that the proposed rules violate the federal principles of governance. “The state governments must be given a pivotal role in the appointment of Vice Chancellors to state public universities. The draft UGC regulations do not envisage any role for the state governments in these appointments, which impinges on the legitimate rights of the states in a federal setup,” the resolution stated.“The regulations severely curtail the rights of the states in constituting the search-cum-selection committees for selection of Vice Chancellors,” it noted.The conclave also rejected provisions allowing non-academics to be appointed as Vice Chancellors, arguing that it would compromise academic integrity. “The provision relating to appointing non-academics as Vice Chancellors requires to be withdrawn,” the ministers said.

(State Correspondent)