Stalin terms draft UGC norms “overreach”
TNN | Jan 8, 2025, 03.57 AM IST
Chennai: Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Tuesday criticized the Center for releasing the draft UGC Regulations, 2025. He said the new regulations granting governors broader control over vice-chancellor appointments and allowing non-academics to hold these posts were a direct assault on federalism and state rights. "This overreach is unacceptable, and Tamil Nadu will fight it legally and politically," Stalin said.
The draft regulations state that the chancellor shall constitute a search-cum-selection committee comprising three experts, including a nominee of the chancellor who shall be the chairperson of the committee, a nominee of the chairman of the University Grants Commission, and a nominee of the apex body of the university such as syndicate/senate/executive council/board of management/equivalent body of the university. Currently, the state govt nominates its members to the committee.
Taking to X, CM said, “This authoritarian move by the Union BJP govt seeks to centralize power and undermine democratically elected state govts. Education must remain in the hands of those chosen by the people, not dictated by governors acting at the BJP govt's behest.”
Noting that education was a subject under the Concurrent List of the Constitution, the CM said the state govt considered the move of the UGC to issue this notification unilaterally as unconstitutional. "Tamil Nadu, which leads the nation with the highest number of top-ranking HEIs, will not remain silent as our institutions are stripped of autonomy," he added.
Addressing reporters, CPM state secretary P Shanmugam alleged that the regulation was part of a broader plan by the BJP to let "Hindutva and RSS forces infiltrate" the education sector in the country.
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