Himachal Pradesh Universities being treated as govt departments: ABVP

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has criticised the Himachal Pradesh State Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2026, alleging that the state government was attempting to weaken the academic and administrative autonomy of the universities in the name of ensuring transparency and curbing corruption.

ABVP Palampur district coordinator Arman Thakur said that universities were autonomous institutions and should not be treated as government departments. He alleged that the proposed changes could adversely affect their academic independence and functioning.

Thakur said that recruitment in universities should not be based solely on written examinations. Academic records, research work, publications, subject knowledge and professional experience should also be given due weight in the selection of teachers.

He said that provisions already existed for appointments through selection committees comprising subject experts and questioned the rationale behind altering the existing UGC system. He added that the present teacher recruitment system in Himachal Pradesh University, Sardar Patel University and the state’s agriculture and horticulture universities gives 80 per cent weightage to academic qualifications and 20 per cent to the interview.