CPI(M) Opposes UGC Draft Regulations, Warns of Corporate Infiltration and Centralization in Higher Education

Madurai: The 24th Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued a strong resolution denouncing the Draft University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulations, 2025, calling them an attempt to centralize control, corporatize Indian universities, and weaken democratic and inclusive structures within higher education.
According to the resolution, the proposed changes grant unprecedented powers to state governors in the appointment of vice-chancellors, undermining the autonomy of universities. In a marked shift from tradition, the draft regulations permit the selection of industry experts and public sector officials — not necessarily academics — as vice-chancellors, opening the doors to corporate and bureaucratic interference in academic leadership.
Furthermore, the draft regulations do not specify the maximum number of direct teaching hours per week for teachers, hinting at a dangerous ploy to increase workload. The draft is also silent on the reservation of teaching posts. By withdrawing its own responsibility from research and paving the way for private actors in academics, the government is pushing the education system toward a market-driven, corporate-controlled model.
The Draft UGC Regulations, 2025, fail to address the issue of discrimination in higher education institutions. Instead, they dilute and weaken existing mechanisms, particularly those aimed at eradicating discrimination against marginalized communities in higher education. The regulations remain silent on caste-based discrimination on university campuses. Additionally, some provisions create avenues for victimizing complainants. The regulations empower the UGC to remove institutions from the list of recognized universities, prohibit the granting of funds for non-compliance, and take additional punitive actions on a case-to-case basis. This will further concentrate power in the hands of the BJP-led central government, enabling it to control state universities and autonomous institutions.
The 24th Party Congress of the CPI(M) demands the enactment of the Rohith Vemula Act to combat caste discrimination in campuses, the implementation of GSCASH in all educational institutions, the passage of a law ensuring campus democracy, and the strengthening of minority and SC/ST cells in universities. The current draft regulations released by the UGC do not serve their stated purpose; rather, they function as a tool to pressure universities. The Party Congress demands that the UGC refrain from such attempts to undermine the quality and autonomy of universities and educational institutes, as well as the spirit of the Constitutional arrangement.