Chennai: In a communication addressed to Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Thiru M.K. Stalin expressed serious concerns over the proposed Draft UGC Regulations for 2024 and 2025. He also wrote to the Chief Ministers of non-BJP-ruled states, urging them to adopt resolutions in their respective Legislative Assemblies to oppose the Draft Regulations, similar to what Tamil Nadu did recently.
Stalin highlighted provisions he believes would disrupt the educational autonomy of Tamil Nadu and other states, undermine state policies, and potentially harm students and institutions.
The Chief Minister specifically targeted two main aspects of the draft regulations: the proposed common entrance exams for undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) admissions, and the introduction of a Multiple Entry and Exit (MEME) system. According to Stalin, mandatory entrance exams would unnecessarily burden students, especially those from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, who may struggle with additional academic stress and financial pressures. He argued that the existing system already ensures fair academic assessment through exit exams and could be compromised by these entrance exams. Furthermore, Stalin raised concerns that a uniform national entrance exam might fail to accommodate regional differences in educational standards, exacerbating inequities.
Another contentious issue in the draft regulations is the MEME system, which the Chief Minister believes would disrupt learning continuity and complicate institutional planning. He suggested that the system could normalize dropouts and destabilize higher education institutions by complicating the academic framework.
In addition to these concerns, Stalin objected to the proposed UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment and Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges) Regulations, 2025, particularly the criteria for appointing non-academicians as Vice-Chancellors. The Chief Minister warned that such appointments could undermine the academic integrity and governance of universities. He also criticized the exclusion of state governments from the Vice-Chancellor selection process, arguing that it would strip states of their right to oversee their universities.
In a parallel effort, Stalin reached out to the Chief Ministers of New Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Telangana, and West Bengal, urging them to pass similar resolutions in their respective State Assemblies. He emphasized that these UGC guidelines encroach on the rights of state governments and called for a unified stand to preserve the federal structure of India’s higher education system.
