UGC To Amend Rules To Allow Non-Academicians To Become University Vice-Chancellors And Remove Limit Of Contract Teachers

The University Grants Commission (UGC) unveiled new regulations on Monday (6 January) that significantly alter the appointment process for leaders in higher education.

The revised rules provide state Governors with increased authority in the selection of Vice-Chancellors and, for the first time, allow industry experts and public sector veterans to be considered for the role. This marks a departure from the longstanding practice of exclusively appointing academicians.

Government sources cited by Indian Express suggest that the proposed regulations, if passed without changes, would empower Chancellors with more authority in the selection of Vice-Chancellors.

This could potentially have considerable implications for states governed by the Opposition, including Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Kerala. In these states, there are ongoing conflicts between the government and the Governor, who acts as the Chancellor of state universities, over the process of appointing top academic positions.

The recently proposed rules have also lifted the limit on the appointment of contract teachers. The rules set in 2018 restricted these appointments to only 10 per cent of the total faculty positions in an institution.

Once the higher education regulator receives public feedback on the draft, the new rules, known as 'University Grants Commission (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment and Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2025' will be finalised.

“The Chancellor/Visitor shall constitute the Search-cum-Selection Committee comprising three experts,” the draft regulations state. Previously, the rules stated that the process for selecting a Vice-Chancellor required appropriate identification by a group of three to five individuals assembled by a Search-cum-Selection Committee, but it did not clarify who would form this committee.

The draft guidelines further caution that failure to implement these rules could lead to the prohibition of an institution from participating in UGC schemes or offering degree programmes.

“Every time we revise UGC regulations, we try to make changes based on past experiences. As far as Vice-Chancellor appointments are concerned, we have tried to make the selection process as clear as possible, leaving no room for ambiguity,” a senior government official said.