UGC issues draft rules for faculty recruitment

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the draft regulations, which will apply to central, state, private and deemed universities, at the UGC headquarters.

If these guidelines are approved, candidates would not be needed to have degrees in the same subject in the undergraduate or postgraduate courses to become a teacher. Instead individuals would be able to become university teachers only in subjects related to their UGC-NET or PhD discipline.

As per the existing criteria, candidates are required to have a mandatory degree in the undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD levels in the same subject to become a teacher.

UGC chairman Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar said these regulations would enhance flexibility, inclusivity and excellence in faculty recruitment and career progression.

He said, “Individuals can qualify for faculty positions based on their performance in a subject of their choice in UGC-NET, even if their undergraduate and postgraduate degrees are in different disciplines. Also, the subject of the PhD degree precedes the disciplines studied in undergraduate and postgraduate degrees for faculty selections.”

“This is an important flexibility to remove rigid subject boundaries and allow faculty applicants to transition across disciplines, creating a more multi-disciplinary eco-system within the university campuses as envisaged in National education policy-2020,” he added.

The draft regulations have also discontinued the API-based shortlisting. Kumar said, “The Academic Performance Indicator (API) system in the 2018 regulations heavily relied on quantitative metrics, reducing academic performance to numerical scores.”

He further highlighted that in the previous regulations, candidates were often judged primarily on numerical criteria, such as journal or conference publication counts.

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. These parameters would include a candidate’s broader academic impact in areas such as innovation in teaching methodologies, technology development, entrepreneurial contributions, book writing, development of digital learning resources among all, Kumar said.

These regulations also facilitate the selection of faculty members from multi-disciplinary backgrounds. It also supports publishing research and educational materials in regional languages, helping to promote Indian languages in higher education. The regulations introduce specialized recruitment pathways to attract the best talent in fields such as yoga, music, performing arts, visual arts, sculpture, and drama.

The UGC chairman said, “These pathways recognise professional accomplishments and national and international achievements. This flexibility ensures that practitioners with exceptional skills in these traditional art forms can contribute to academia and facilitate in preserving India’s cultural heritage.”

“Recognising the value of physical education and sports, the new regulations also provide accomplished sportspersons opportunities to join the teaching profession,” the UGC chairman said.