Academics oppose UGC’s 2025 faculty recruitment guidelines

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has released its 2025 guidelines for the recruitment of faculty and Vice-Chancellors in higher educational institutions, replacing the 2018 guidelines. However, the new policy has sparked widespread criticism from academicians, educationists and intellectuals across the country. The UGC has invited feedback from stakeholders, but many within the academic community have voiced strong opposition to the proposed changes.

Former Vice-Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University (HPAU) Palampur, Prof Ashok Kumar Sarial, stated that over 150 Vice-Chancellors across India recently deliberated online and raised serious concerns about the new guidelines. He argued that the UGC should first reform itself in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 before introducing fresh regulations.

A major point of contention is the proposal to allow individuals with at least 10 years of senior-level experience in industry, public administration, public policy or public sector undertakings to be eligible for the position of Vice-Chancellor. Many academic bodies strongly oppose this change, arguing that Vice-Chancellors should be appointed solely from educational backgrounds. Prof Sarial pointed out that past experiments with appointing VCs from non-academic fields in certain states were later withdrawn due to their shortcomings.

Critics believe that the new UGC guidelines could dilute the quality and standard of education, curb university autonomy, and promote privatization instead of enhancing governance, transparency, and accountability.

Another major concern is the proposal to remove the mandatory National Eligibility Test (NET) as an essential qualification for direct recruitment to the post of Assistant Professor. Professors, deans and department heads at HPAU and other institutions argue that the NET ensures subject expertise and maintains academic standards across universities and colleges. The test provides a uniform benchmark despite variations in teaching and research methodologies across institutions.

Academics fear that scrapping the NET requirement would compromise the quality of teaching and research in higher education. They warn that this move could also lead to demands for the removal of the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) for school teachers, further weakening the education system.

The new UGC guidelines, instead of improving academic standards, are being seen as a step backward by the teaching community. With strong resistance from the academic fraternity, it remains to be seen whether the UGC will reconsider its proposals in response to the widespread criticism.