Kerala Assembly passes resolution seeking withdrawal of UGC guidelines 2025

The Kerala assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution urging the central government to withdraw the draft UGC guidelines and issue a revised version.

The resolution was moved in the House by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who said that the assembly was of the clear opinion that the draft UGC norms do not reflect the spirit of the Constitution.

The CM said that universities in the various states function according to the laws passed by the respective state legislatures as they have the power to establish and supervise the universities.

The central government only has the power to coordinate and fix standards for higher education and research institutions, he said.

By ignoring these facts and without holding discussions with all the stakeholders, the Centre issued the draft guidelines which completely exclude the opinions of the state governments, including on the appointment of Vice Chancellors, and therefore, they are "incompatible with the federal system and democracy", Vijayan said.

The CM claimed that the provision in the norms allowing persons even from the private sector to be appointed as Vice Chancellors, while not considering academic experts, was "a move to commercialise the higher education sector.

He contended that the draft UGC norms of 2025 can only be seen as part of the moves to destroy democratic values in the field of higher education and to bring it into "the control of those who spread religious and communal ideas".

He said the House was of the view that the stand taken by the central government and the UGC on the issue was "undemocratic and needed to be corrected".

"This House unanimously requests the central government to immediately withdraw the draft UGC norms of 2025, consider the opinions and concerns of the state governments and academic experts, and to issue new norms only after holding detailed discussions with all the stakeholders and taking their opinions seriously," Vijayan said.

Last week, the CM, while slamming the new UGC regulations, had said that he would collaborate with non-BJP chief ministers across the country to resist the norms introduced by the central institution.

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.