Dissent brews in NDA over UGC draft rules: JD(U) opposes, TDP and LJP play safe

There is unease within the NDA over the UGC's draft rules 2025. (File Photo: ANI)

The University Grants Commission's draft regulations 2025 appear to have sparked dissent within the ruling BJP-led NDA combine with key allies taking exception to the proposed move to give Chancellors greater say in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors in state universities.

The JD(U), led by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, has come out openly in criticism of the UGC's proposal and said it will take up the matter with the Centre after a thorough perusal of the draft regulations.

"By limiting the role of elected governments in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors, the efforts of the state government in the field of education will be discouraged to a great extent. We have not read the draft of the UGC regulations, but the things that are coming out in the media show that some amendments to that may be needed,” JD(U) national spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said while speaking to The Indian Express.

There is also a sense of unease within the TDP, another key ally of the BJP at the Centre, regarding the proposed changes, but has so far been guarded in its response.

"We have seen the draft UGC rules but as our top leadership is in Davos for the WEF (World Economic Forum), there have been no internal discussions on it. However, if we have any reservations, we will not raise them publicly and will rather communicate them to the people concerned internally. We do not wish to politicise this issue," TDP national spokesperson Deepak Reddy told The Indian Express.

Chirag Paswan's LJP (Ram Vilas) said that the issue should be discussed in parliament since it pertains to the position of a Chancellor which is a constitutional mandate. "It is the prerogative of Parliament to deliberate upon it,” LJP (RV) national vice-president AK Bajpai said.

The proposed changes are part of the draft UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment and Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2025, and provides for greater powers to Chancellors, usually Governors appointed by the Centre, in the appointment of V-Cs.

The proposal has sparked protest from several Opposition-ruled states who have argued that the proposed rules would undermine the constitutional principle of federalism and damage the interest of the state’s higher education sector. The state Assemblies of Kerala and Tamil Nadu have unanimously passed resolutions against the draft, demanding that the Centre roll it back.