New Delhi: The University Grants Commission (UGC) Monday proposed a major overhaul in the recruitment process of vice-chancellors, opening the door for industry experts and public sector veterans from non-academic backgrounds to be appointed to the role, while also giving chancellors more authority in the selection process.
The UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment & Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2025, would replace the 2018 guidelines. They have been updated in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The commission has released the draft in the public domain for a month, seeking suggestions, after which it will release the final guidelines.
If finalised, the proposal to give chancellors the power to constitute the committee for the appointment of vice-chancellors could have political ramifications in states. While the Vice President of India is the chancellor of central universities, at state universities, the various governors of the respective states act as chancellor.
The current guidelines do not specify who should constitute the committee for the appointment of vice-chancellors.
The draft proposal could have significant implications in states governed by opposition parties, where conflicts between state governments and governors over the appointment of vice-chancellors have been common, such as West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
It has met with resistance from a section of teachers.
Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) president A.K. Bhagi said that the proposal to include industry experts was initially suggested in the 2018 guidelines.
“However, it was later dropped due to opposition from teacher associations and educators. Our stance on this remains unchanged. The position of vice-chancellor should only be held by academics,” he told ThePrint. Bhagi also mentioned that DUTA would send its recommendations to the UGC soon.
In addition, the UGC suggested several reforms to the faculty hiring process at universities and colleges, including the removal of the 10 percent cap on the hiring of teachers on a contractual basis.
Here, concerns have been raised over the potential for lateral entry into top positions, the possible dilution of academic rigour, and the growing involvement of the private sector in education.
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Proposed changes in eligibility, recruitment process of V-Cs
Traditionally, vice-chancellor candidates had to be “distinguished academicians” with at least 10 years of experience as a professor at a university or in a prominent academic or administrative role, demonstrating academic leadership. But the UGC has proposed broadening the criteria for the appointment.
Under the new guidelines, candidates must now be “distinguished individuals possessing high academic qualifications, demonstrated administrative and leadership capabilities, strong alignment with constitutional values, social commitment, belief in teamwork and pluralism, an ability to work with diverse groups, a flair for innovation, and a global perspective on higher education, along with a clear vision for the institution”.
Additionally, the UGC has proposed that individuals with at least 10 years of senior-level experience in industry, public administration, public policy, or public sector undertakings, combined with a proven record of significant academic or scholarly contributions, also be eligible for the post.
“First, they allowed industry experts into academia through the Professor of Practice scheme, and now industry will have direct access to the highest administrative positions in universities,” said a senior faculty member from Jawaharlal Nehru University, requesting anonymity. “This will inevitably lead to the complete privatisation of higher education and dilution of academic rigour.”
The proposed norms also give greater power to chancellors who will now constitute the search and selection committee, comprising three experts.
A senior faculty member from Jadavpur University, who asked not to be named, told ThePrint, “This move clearly indicates that the Centre intends to assert control over the VC recruitment process, even in state universities through governors.”
Proposed changes in eligibility for faculty members
The draft guidelines have also proposed changing the eligibility criteria for the recruitment to faculty member positions at all levels in alignment with the NEP 2020.
Those with a four-year undergraduate degree with 75 percent marks or a postgraduate degree with at least 55 percent marks (or an equivalent grade) and a PhD as well as those with a postgraduate degree with at least 55 percent marks and qualification in University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) or a similar test would become eligible.
Furthermore, those with a postgraduate degree equivalent to Masters of Engineering or MTech with at least 55 percent marks (or an equivalent grade) would also become eligible without being required to clear the UGC-NET.
In addition, the UGC has proposed that faculty members can be hired in subjects based on their performance in the UGC-NET, even if their undergraduate and postgraduate degrees are in different disciplines. This means that if a candidate has not studied economics at the undergraduate or postgraduate level but performs well in the UGC-NET for economics, they could still be eligible for an appointment as an assistant professor in the subject.
The commission also called for a revision of regulations to attract top talent for faculty positions in fields such as Yoga, Music, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Sculpture, and Drama, and allow those with state or national-level achievements in these fields to be recruited directly.
The UGC has proposed the removal of the Academic Performance Indicator (API) system used earlier for promotions of faculty members saying that it relied heavily on quantitative metrics, reducing academic performance to numerical scores.
“In the previous regulations, candidates were often judged primarily on numerical criteria, such as journal or conference publication counts,” UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar explained.
“However, the 2025 regulations discontinue the API-based shortlisting and adopt a more qualitative approach, allowing selection committees to assess candidates holistically based on their notable contributions and broader academic impact in areas such as innovation in teaching methodologies, technology development, entrepreneurial contributions, book writing, development of digital learning resources, community engagement and societal contributions; promoting Indian languages and Indian knowledge systems and sustainability practices; supervising internships and projects or initiating successful startups.”
Concerns over promotion criteria for ad-hoc, asst professors
On Tuesday, the Academics for Action and Development Teachers Association (AADTA), a Delhi University-based teachers group, issued a statement saying proposed changes in faculty eligibility will dilute the entire quality of education since the candidate could then be appointed to teach either undergraduate or postgraduate students.
“In subjects like sciences, Mathematics etc. the PG course comprises a very advanced version of the concepts. Sometimes those concepts are introduced only in PG. The teacher without a PG degree may not have experience so this will be an injustice to the students and academics at large,” it said.
The proposed guidelines have also institutionalised the Professor of Practice scheme, which was not the part of 2018 guidelines. “The engagement of the Professor of Practice will be exclusive of the sanctioned posts. The number of Professors of Practice in a HEI, at any point in time, should not exceed 10% of the sanctioned posts in a HEI,” the draft norms said.
Faculty members also emphasised that notable contributions have no direct bearing on teaching and research.
“Notable contributions to be considered by the selection committee for recruitment and promotion of university and college teachers gives a huge advantage to those coming from the private sector market-driven ecosystem,” the AADTA said in the statement. “For recruitment and promotion at different levels, the research or Teaching lab development should not be considered as few teachers get the opportunity for this and work with basic facilities. This will also adversely affect a fresh eligible candidate.”
Concerns were also flagged concerns over the changes to the process of promotion of ad hoc teachers.
Rudrashish Chakraborty, an associate professor at Delhi University’s Kirori Mal College, said, “The requirement for a UGC-mandated selection committee for ad hoc appointments makes it impossible to count past service for promotion. This has effectively nullified the benefit of previous service, even for the first promotion, and the draft regulation lacks provisions to count past service at every stage of promotion.”
Similarly, there have been concerns over the promotion of assistant professors to first level (after at least 4 years) for which now a PhD is mandatory. “This will create additional pressure on a teacher who was recruited immediately after clearing NET. How will they teach and complete PhD before their first promotion,” said Bhagi.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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