Today, Thursday, February 6, Higher Education Ministers and their representatives from six states convened at the State Higher Education Ministers-2025 conclave, hosted by Karnataka, and unanimously passed a 15-point resolution opposing the University Grants Commission's (UGC) 2025 draft regulations.

These regulations pertain to minimum qualifications for appointing and promoting teachers and academic staff, as well as the grading of higher education institutions under the New Education Policy 2020.

The resolution urged the Union government to withdraw the draft, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union Government of advancing its agenda and ideology through the regulations, thereby undermining federal principles, The Hindu reports.

Participating states included Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Karnataka — all of whom are ruled by the Indian National Congress (INC) or its allies.

Maharashtra’s representative, who was set to join virtually, faced technical issues and could not participate, while Jammu & Kashmir’s Minister cited emergency meetings as the reason for their absence, as explained by Karnataka’s Higher Education Minister, MC Sudhakar, during a press briefing.

Sudhakar also noted that even a few BJP allies, such as the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh, and Bihar’s Janata Dal United (JDU) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP-Ram Vilas), have voiced objections to the UGC draft. Additionally, West Bengal has formed an expert committee to review the regulations.

Expressing his dissatisfaction with the regulations, Govi Chezhiaan, Minister for Higher Education, Tamil Nadu, pointed out that they were the first to pass a resolution in the State Assembly against the new regulations, followed by Kerala.

“This is the Centre’s move to undermine elected state governments and take over state universities. Tamil Nadu has always prioritised education and social justice, but these rules go against the interests of students,” he said.

Telangana's Minister of Information Technology and Industry, Sridhar Babu, called the rule "draconian and drastic." Jharkhand's Minister of Higher and Technical Education Sudivya Kumar and Himachal Pradesh's Minister of Education Rohit Thakur said that their respective states would oppose the regulations with full force.

In response, UGC Chairman Prof M Jagadesh Kumar stated that the UGC welcomes constructive feedback and is open to working collaboratively.