The University Grants Commission (UGC) has taken a significant decision to ensure that teacher appointments and PhD degree awards in higher educational institutions align with its regulations. To achieve this, the Commission will collect information on faculty appointments and degree awards and verify the corresponding documents. This decision was made during the 568th meeting of the UGC held on April 24, 2023.
“The role of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in nurturing intellectuals and imparting knowledge to the nation’s growth is well known. The UGC, with the mandate to promote and coordinate University education, notifies, among other things, regulations to ensure the quality of the teachers and the quality of research degrees from time to time,” says UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar
Two key regulations play a crucial role in establishing and maintaining standards for the selection of teachers and the conferral of degrees: the UGC Regulations on Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and Other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education, 2018, and the University Grants Commission (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of PhD Degree) Regulations, 2022.
“Despite the regulations, complaints from stakeholders about violations of the Regulations mentioned above are not uncommon,” acknowledges the Chairperson. He concludes by affirming the commitment of the commission to take action against institutions that are found violating its regulations.
