Retract UGC Draft Regulation that Undermines Federalism

Kollam: The CPI M State Conference has passed a resolution urging the Centre to withdraw the UGC draft regulation, which undermines federalism. The resolution introduced by P K Biju in CPI M State Conference, urges that the BJP has been implementing calculated political moves to saffronise education and bring the higher education sector under its control. The Sangh Parivar is transforming central universities into platforms for political indoctrination, compromising the integrity of research and academic freedom. The democratic rights of students are being systematically denied, and the autonomy of professors, particularly in their research endeavors, is significantly diminished.

State universities are within the exclusive jurisdiction of state governments, yet through the proposed UGC draft regulation, the central government seeks to extend its political influence even into the domain of state education. As part of its broader saffronisation agenda, the central government is attempting to impose the National Education Policy without holding a public discussion or parliamentary debate. This attempt to centralise education was first set in motion in 2018 with amendments to the UGC regulations. These changes enabled the Centre to appoint vice chancellors as chancellors in state universities, effectively taking control away from state authorities.

The University Grants Commission (UGC), which was originally introduced as an agency to enhance academic quality and provide grants to support education, was never meant to interfere with state matters. The UGC Act itself does not grant the commission the authority to create rules beyond the provisions specified in it. In a direct challenge to this fundamental principle of legislative authority, the central government, through governors acting as chancellors, implemented the controversial 2018 amendment. When governors in various states opposed these measures, Kerala's Governor, Arif Mohammad Khan, abused his position to encroach upon the state’s jurisdiction. State-funded universities began to be run as if the governors, in their role as chancellors, held absolute authority.

Although the state legislative assembly passed an amendment to remove governors from the position of Chancellors, the governor refused to assent to it, challenging the state legislature. Kerala continues its legal battle against this. During these times, the UDF leadership in Kerala, with the help of the media, extended support to the governor and unleashed a vicious propaganda campaign against the LDF. The Congress in Kerala acted as a supporter of the Sangh Parivar's attempts to take control of state universities. Due to the strong political resistance led by the Left and student movements in Kerala, the central government was unable to proceed unilaterally. It is in this context that a new plan is being prepared to amend the UGC Act to bring state universities under the complete control of the central government.

Education is on the Concurrent List, and neither Parliament nor any agency established by Parliament can unilaterally enact laws that nullify the rights of states. A strong protest must rise against the move to hand over education to private corporations and to eliminate secular, democratic education. The CPI(M) State Conference demands that the central government withdraw from this move.